Bittersweet
by Frigid Fire
Summary: It was something that couldn't be explained. But a drunk broad, a friendly bet, and a bakery visit forced them together. Their relationship couldn't be explained easily. But if it had to be, the only word that came to mind would have to be "bittersweet."
1. You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

**Woah hey. We did something. And it's _beautiful._ Or, as our friend Derek says, it's _cute_. Regardless, this is probably my favorite OC. EVAR. And we even have an _ending, and stuff to happen_ along the way! Anywho... enjoy the first installment of Bittersweet.**

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, Roy would be married to two sixteen-year-old fangirls.

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Alice Ackerman liked for things to flow; it had been that way since she was little, for as long as she could really remember. For the most part, things in her life were exactly the way she wanted them. There were no secrets in her world; everything was clear-cut. Alice played the piano obsessively, hated fire, and talked little-to-none if she could help it. The only people she would talk to were her students, the grocer, and her noisy neighbor, Ivy. Alice always found Ivy's name fitting. Ivy had a way of overshadowing and/or suffocating people; this didn't stop her from being fond of the other girl, however.

A week in her life is very consistent. For example, on Sunday, Alice goes outside to get her newspaper at 10 o'clock. She is at that time yelled at by Ivy for being so anti-social. Alice then goes back into her little villa and reads both the paper and sight-reads some sheet music before turning in at 7:30.

On Mondays, Alice goes to the bakery at 11:30 and buys her bread for the week. She then goes home and makes herself a sandwich out of her warm, fresh bread and some leftover cold meats. It's the only semi-hot meal she eats at home. At 12:45, her first piano student arrives. Exactly an hour and a half later, her next student arrives. He leaves in 45 minutes.

On Tuesdays, she goes to the market at 10:40 and picks up her groceries for the week, all cold foods. She goes home to instruct two piano lessons. On Wednesdays, she instructs three piano lessons and goes to the library for more sheet music and books. On Thursdays, she goes to visit her sister on the other side of the Capitol. Since it is quite the trip, she can't accept any students on Thursdays. At her sister's home, she eats a hot meal and plays with her niece and nephew; then her elder sister nags her about wanting her own nieces and nephews.

Fridays are Alice's busiest days; she takes on the most students then, that way she can wholeheartedly reject Ivy's invitation to go drink the night away. A good, hard day of teaching to others wears the woman out, or so she claimed. In reality, Alice just didn't want to leave the house, although she knew that in Ivy's wish would have to be sated. The pianist attempted to keep the other woman at bay for as long as she could.

Saturdays are her lazy days, the days on which the twenty-three year-old does little more than read and partake in the most beautiful piano playing she possibly can. She doesn't take any students on Saturdays, simply so she can have the weekend to herself. Ivy bothers Alice all that a neighbor possibly could, and it always makes the woman grin to know that she has such a caring, if irritating, person next door.

That Friday, however, Alice was in for a rude awakening. Ivy came bursting into her house, with no regard for the fact that Alice's door was shut. The pianist blinked twice, staring at the slightly younger woman who had come rushing into her living room without warning. Ivy raised her index finger, pointing to Alice and then herself.

"You. Me. Bar. Now." Without another word, Alice's book had been flipped from her hand, and Ivy had grabbed her hand, pulling her up out of the chair she'd been reading in.

"W-What?" Alice stuttered as Ivy threw the girl her light wool jacket and dragged her out the front door. Luckily, she managed to lock her door on the way out.

"Come on, Alice! You've got to get out of the house sometime! It's a beautiful spring night and the bars will be hopping!" Ivy grinned and winked.

"But I don't want to though," Alice whined quietly. Ivy didn't hear, fortunately. She figured that her neighbor may start leaving her alone after this outing. Or, perhaps not.

Ivy was, in Alice's honest opinion, ridiculous. She worked all week, as most did, but come Friday and Saturday night, she may as well have been an animal. Alice didn't see how such an obnoxious woman could be docile at work and outrageous at home, but Ivy managed somehow. The walk to the bar didn't seem to take long, however, with Alice's neighbor chattering the whole way there. A high-pitched giggle from inside caused Alice to recoil; this was far from the piano teacher's normal scene, but Ivy took no notice and pulled her right on in.

Alice didn't partake in any of the various "festivities" Ivy did, and reacted with little more than silence to any attempt to converse with the pianist. Hours passed in an ungodly slow manner for Alice, with Ivy growing more atrocious by the moment. Intoxicated Ivy was _not _an Ivy that Alice was particularly fond of, and when the girl practically fell into Alice's lap, it was all the woman could do not to sigh exasperatedly.

"A-Alice, my _darling_," the girl drawled, in a rather unattractive way, Alice thought, "I think… I think I love that guy. _That_ one. No, not him; he's ugly. _That one_." Ivy pointed to a fiery ginger a ways across the room. She looked up into Ivy's eyes, and slurred, "_He's_ freaking _gorgeous_, Alice…"

Alice's jaw opened, staring at the man Ivy seemed to be infatuated with. "Sweetheart… that's a poster."

"But he's _beautiful!_"

"…I think it's time to go home, Ivy."

"But we're just having **so** much fun! It has taken me months to get you out of the house, we can't go home _now_!" Ivy giggled stupidly. Alice stood up, turning to the bartender and asking a quick question before deftly maneuvering around the room.

She only managed to lure Ivy out of the bar with the pretty-boy on the poster.

Alice managed to get her ridiculous neighbor a block away from the bar before she plopped down on the sidewalk. "_You know_," Ivy began, "_those little sparkly things in the sky? They're sparkly…" _

"Um, okay, I'm glad we had this talk," Alice mumbled under her breath.

_"Alice, you know what you need? A hot brother. Then you would never need to go out of your house. Because he'd take care of his hermit of a sister. And I'd be married! And we'd be sisters! Wouldn't that be great, Alice? So just get yourself a hot older brother, and we'd be all set. Okay? Make a hot older brother so I can marry him. And he has to be a redhead, 'cause redheads are _hot_!" _

"Is there a problem here, ladies?" a tall, black haired man asked from behind the two women. He was accompanied by a blonde smoking a cigarette. Alice jumped back a bit at the sight of the cigarette. But she realized that she could potentially use the two men to get Ivy to head home.

"Thank god you're here!" Alice muttered.

_"Alice, who are these nice, very attractive gentlemen?"_ Ivy slurred with a giant grin on her face. The two men walked closer, obviously a bit full of themselves from the compliment.

Alice gave the blonde a quick look-over. It was so crazy (and Ivy was so drunk) that her idea could possibly work. "Why, Ivy, this, of course, is my brother. We were just talking about him, remember?" she gave a forced smile to the drunk girl and mouthed 'play along' to the two men. "Yeah, this is my brother, um, uh…"

"Jean Havoc, m'lady," the blonde squatted down to Ivy's level and gave her a playful wink.

_"He's cute! Why didn't you tell me that you have a hot brother? Then who's this guy?"_ Ivy asked, pointing lazily at the black haired man.

"Him? Uh, he's my, uh…boyfriend," she replied blushing. Alice was so embarrassed that she was forced to claim someone that she had never met or seen in her life as her boyfriend because of drunken Ivy.

"Hey, the name's Roy Mustang," he gave a bemused smile and a slight nod.

_"Your boyfriend is hot! Now I know why you never accepted all those invitations to go out drinking! You were too busy fornicating with your sexy boyfriend!" _ Alice looked down at her shoes and turned bright red. Roy's smirk grew wider by the second.

"Sometimes I wish you'd stop forming coherent sentences…" Alice's cheeks were set ablaze, and she snuck a quick glance at her "boyfriend." "I mean, uh, we really need to get home Ivy. You're… not looking your best."

"_Home? How can I even __**think **__about going home, when I'm surrounded by such __**beautiful**__people?"_

Jean slipped his arm around Ivy's shoulders, pulling the young woman up from the ground. "Do you two need a ride home?"

"No… I think we can make it back –"

"_Alice… I love you and all, but I am not passing up a ride with your brother."_

That was going to take serious explaining later, of that much Alice was certain. Roy gestured in a general direction, the way that Jean was already carrying Ivy. If anyone was going to _fornicate _that night, it was most certainly going to be Ivy. The drunken woman was put into the front seat, next to the blonde, whereas Alice took a seat beside the black-haired military man.

Once Ivy was more than a few inches away, Alice allowed herself to breathe a little easier, despite the proximity of her "boyfriend." The ride was short, and for the most part silent, at least in the back seat. Ivy, on the other hand, couldn't seem to grasp the concept of 'shut up.' Jean didn't seem to mind though, as she kept referring to him as 'hot' and other synonyms.

"…So. Does Alice have a last name?" Roy broke the silence, and Alice continued looking at the floor while she spoke.

"Um… Alice Ackerman." Her conversational skills left something to be desired, but she had at least answered his question. The pianist felt eyes on her, further making her uneasy; it was as if the man was trying to get a good read on her, or maybe he just wanted to make Alice uncomfortable. Ivy, useless as she was, wasn't giving very good directions, and eventually Alice took over, directing him to their homes.

"_H-hey! We're home, Alice!"_ Ivy practically thrust her door open, falling all over herself far less than gracefully. Alice shook her head, and spoke to both Roy and Jean in turn.

"Thank you both, so much. There was no way I would have been able to get her back on my own, mess as she was."

Ivy stumbled to her door, and Roy chuckled a bit. "Hey, what are 'boyfriends' for, Alice Ackerman?"

His wink afterward sent her spiraling into yet another deep blush, and Alice fumbled with the door for a second. When she finally managed to rip it open, she caught, "Have a nice night, Sis," and another laugh before the vehicle drove away.

Ivy seemed to have forgotten how to unlock her house, and after Alice did so, her neighbor gave her a quick, sloppy kiss on the cheek. Alice wiped off the saliva disgustedly, and shook her head before re-entering her own house.

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"So?"

"So what?" Roy Mustang raised an eyebrow at his subordinate.

"Don't lie. You were totally looking that one up and down, Colonel."

"Of course I was. I do that to anything female… and human, of course."

Jean put the vehicle in park, turning around to face his superior officer. "I've got a bet for you, if you think you're man enough to take it."

With a threat like _that_ to his masculinity, there was little more Roy Mustang could say than, "What's that?"


	2. Things We Said Today

**Hey guys! We saw the Beatles tonight! Kind of. . In honor of them, however, we've decided to make all our titles Beatles-related. *dun-nuh* It was awesome. If you ever get the chance to go see 1964: The Tribute, DO IT. You won't regret it, we swear. Lissa's new dream is to hug their Ringo Starr.**

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Nor do we own the Beatles, not that it really relates to anything... But Lissa does own two pretty cute goats! ^^ *Hughes pose***  
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"Okay, okay, there are a few stipulations to this bet," Jean Havoc reiterated. "For example, you can't go around flaunting what you do in the military. If she asks for your rank, tell her, sure; but no gallivanting around blatantly bragging about your skills."

"You can make the bet as in-depth as you want, Havoc. We both know I always win."

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There was a sharp knock on Ivy's door. It was bright and early on that next Monday morning, and the woman hadn't even woken up yet. Ivy stumbled out of bed and eventually made it to her door, cracking it open to reveal a black-haired man who looked terribly familiar. "Hello? Can I help you?" she asked with a sweet, but sleepy smile.

"Are you Miss Ivy Perry?" the black haired man asked in a deep voice. She nodded. "The military requires you to give us as much information about Miss Alice Ackerman's daily activities as you possibly can," he said in a very official tone.

"W-why? Is Alice in some kind of trouble? Do I know you? Why are you asking me?" she fired off all four questions in one breath.

"That, Miss Perry, is only for top military personnel to know," he replied curtly. "And keep in mind that withholding information is a crime against the State, no pressure."

Of course, Roy was totally pulling Ivy's chain; in reality, he just wanted to find out where he could "bump into" Alice without being too conspicuous. He had dropped by the office that morning and informed his team what paperwork needed to be done, and what should be said to Hughes should he call. Riza had rolled her eyes, and Roy had tipped his hat once before stepping out, making his way over to the so-called Ivy Perry's place of residence.

"D-duh, uh…" Ivy was flustered, "What day is it?" To be fair, she had just woken up, and she wasn't exactly thinking straight.

"Monday."

"Er, at 11:30, Alice goes to the bakery. She has a couple students, I think, but other than going to the bakery she doesn't leave her house." Ivy quickly gave Roy the lay down of her neighbor's whole week as accurately as she possibly could. Roy gave her a slight smirk before leaving. He couldn't believe that the girl actually believed him. It made his job easier, but he was so looking forward to a challenge…

Alice awoke at 8:00, like she did every Monday. She dressed herself in a knee-length pale green dress that brought out her eyes; she then finished off her week-old bread and drank a bit of milk before preparing to leave the house. Alice checked all her light bulbs and her stove, though she didn't use either since the night before. She pulled her jacket on and checked that her door was locked three times before leaving at exactly 11:30. She walked to the bakery like she always did and waited in the short line.

A tall, black-haired man turned around and almost ran into Alice. "Oh, um, I'm sorry," she mumbled looking at the ground.

"Oh, hey, don't I know you?" Roy gave the woman a smirk, and Alice made eye contact before jumping back in surprise. Of _course_, it would be her "boyfriend" from Friday; the pianist's cheeks turned dark scarlet.

"Oh, um… I'm really sorry about, er, Friday." The man smirked at her embarrassment and gave a nonchalant shrug. Alice glanced up at the man and noticed that he wasn't in his military uniform like in their first meeting, although he was still dressier than Alice herself. "Aren't you in the military?" she asked quietly. "It's Monday; don't military men work on Mondays?"

Roy smirked yet again, "Don't military men deserve a day off?"

"Well, I, um, I only meant, um…sorry," she replied in shame. Alice had never been much of a talker, and that fact was further proved by her inability to converse with Roy. An awkward silence ensued, and Alice looked towards the clock for a moment. She was really supposed to be getting home, as it was coming up on twelve. What was worse, her bread was growing cold. It was the only time during the week that Alice _got _bread; she couldn't afford to waste it while it was hot.

After Roy didn't say anything, she began to turn away and exit, but the military man beat her to it, opening the door. Alice gave him a shy smile before stepping out, with him following.

"You wouldn't mind if I walked you home, would you?" He raised an eyebrow before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking alongside her even though she didn't answer.

Alice felt awkward as they walked, so she decided to attempt at conversation. "So, um, why were you at the bakery?"

"I needed bread," Roy responded shortly.

"But you didn't buy any bread…"

"Well, I decided that I don't really want to buy bread today."

"Oh. Well, that probably wasn't the best idea if you needed bread," Alice replied with a confused look. Roy wasn't expecting the girl to be decently perceptive. He decided that this situation could become interesting.

"You may be right." He smirked slightly. Alice looked up at his bemused face and couldn't help but notice how classically attractive her companion was. She wasn't used to walking around with a man, let alone a handsome military man. The only man close to her age that she spoke to was the grocer's son who always offered to carry her groceries home for her. And even then, all she did was thank him for the offer and blush a no… although come to think of it, he was cute, too.

"So, um…" This was as close as Alice would ever get to being social, so she figured she might as well make the best of it. "What do you do?"

"Well, I'm in the military, as you know." Roy chuckled. "Colonel Roy Mustang, at your service."

"Colonel? Is that… high up?" Alice blushed at her own lack of knowledge. "Sorry, I'm not very attuned to military workings." Major, General, Lieutenant; they were all the same to the piano teacher, who didn't much take interest in such things.

"I do alright. It's enough to buy me a good house and put food on the table every night." He smirked, giving Alice a trademark grin that usually made the opposite gender just _melt._ The girl wasn't paying attention, however. Alice seemed rather focused on her feet more than anything else. The smile, unseen, didn't have quite the effect that the colonel had been expecting. He decided to move on. When you can't dazzle them with a smile, you either burn them or pretend to show interest. He decided upon the latter after a bit of consideration. "So what is it that you do?"

"Oh, I'm a piano teacher," she said, perking up a bit. Alice loved her job. It didn't have any benefits, it barely brought in any money, and she had to deal with several unenthused students, but there was just something about her job that made her life complete.

"Oh?" Roy looked at her with one eyebrow raised. He'd never seen anyone that excited to announce that they were a piano teacher. Then again, Roy had never before met a piano teacher.

"Yeah, I know. Piano is such a geeky instrument, huh?" she said with a quiet smile on her face. "But I have a nice, cozy house, and food to eat, so at least it's good for something." Alice's eyes lit up at the thought of her precious piano back home, and instantly she was slightly more content with the situation.

"Not at all." Roy tried the smile again, this time catching Alice's eye briefly before she turned away. "Sometimes I wish I could do something like that."

"I could, um," Alice's words came out before she could stop them, "try to te-teach you sometime." She stumbled over 'teach,' finally realizing what she was saying to him halfway through.

"I would have no luck with something like that, I'm afraid. Thank you for the offer, though." The thought of himself learning an instrument was not near the top of his list of things to be able to do, although it seemed to be the one thing Alice would openly talk about.

The skies had been cloudy all day, but a few moments later, the rain began to pound the ground without mercy. Alice hugged her bread to her chest, pulling the jacket she wore above her head, and began moving more quickly in the direction of her residence. Spotting Roy simply staring up at the sky with a slight look of disdain on his face, she spoke slightly louder than usual, "Come on! Let's get out of the rain!"

The man and woman quickly maneuvered themselves to Alice's house, and she quickly unlocked the door and burst in, getting out of the rain as quickly as possible. When she turned, however, Alice saw Roy still standing on the doorstep, looking in silently.

He would be one of a select group of people who were ever let into her house besides family and students. Ivy didn't even _ask_. She just came rushing in whenever she felt like it. Alice thought for a moment about letting him in, before the guilt came creeping into her mind. Roy was only out in the rain because he had walked _her_ home. With a sigh, she re-approached the doorway and said, "Come on in. I have a student due in a few minutes, but… make yourself at home."

Roy smirked slightly and stepped into the small house. Alice took his soaked jacket from him and hung it up in hopes that it would dry. "Would you like a sandwich?" Alice asked timidly, leading Roy into the small kitchen.

"How about a grilled cheese?" Roy asked, moving towards the stove as the pianist began cutting up the still-warm bread. Alice dropped her knife, eyes growing wide as she blocked him from getting to the stove.

"No, don't! It's, uh, it's broken! Yeah, it's been broken for a while now. It's not safe to turn on, or go near for that matter." Alice shifted uncomfortably.

"Maybe I can fix it," Roy started, about to walk around the woman.

"No! Really, it's fine! I've adapted. I would even say that I prefer it like this. Why were stoves invented anyway?" she laughed nervously and began sweating a bit.

Roy looked at her uneasily. "Uh, okay then," he replied, a bit surprised at the small woman's random outburst. It was just a stove, after all…

Alice soon busied herself with making cold sandwiches. Roy just stood there as she did all the work. He figured that it was a fair trade: she got him stuck out in the rain; she had to make him a sandwich. If that wasn't Equivalent Exchange, he didn't know what was.

There came a knock on the door, and Alice quickly asked Roy to answer it for her. "Roy, could you get that? It's probably Liz; she's my favorite, we can't keep her out in the rain. She's a little brash, so if she gets lippy, just yell back."

Regardless of her final warning, Roy stepped over to the door, swinging it open to reveal a short redheaded girl. The girl, Liz, Roy assumed, blinked once and gave him a quick up-down before yelling, "Oi, Miss A, you know there's like, a _guy_ in your house, right?"

Alice emerged from the kitchen with his sandwich in hand, handing it to Roy. "Don't touch my stove." Her words addressed the colonel before Alice turned to Liz. "Alright, pretend he's not here. We have your lesson to attend to."

"I didn't even know you had _friends_, Miss A, other than that Ivy lady next door, much less _boy_friends!"

"Liz. Stop talking. Your playing had better be perfect to make up for all the completely stupid things you say."

"How am I supposed to ignore a random guy watching my practice session? I don't even know his name," Liz responded.

Alice sighed, "Fine, this is Colonel Roy Mustang, he got caught up in the rain, so I invited him in. Are you satisfied?"

"Ooooh…A military man, huh? Good choice, Miss A! He's not entirely unfortunate-looking either!"

"Should I leave?" Roy asked, shooting a glare towards Liz. Alice didn't notice. She insisted that Roy eat his sandwich and that Liz start her lesson.


	3. Tomorrow Never Knows

**Hewwo. It's chapter three of the fanfic Bittersweet, and we're kind of totally in love with it. We love reviews! And favorites! And alerts! -sings- "I wanna be a billionaire, so frickin' bad." We want a billioooon reviews. ;) Okay, maybe not that many. But, if you could...  
And we _missed _you _chocolvr69!_ You're our faithful fan through and through, and you have no idea how pleased that makes us. :)**

Disclaimer: **We don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, because if we did, Lex would know whether or not Ed could swim. :( ...Does anyone know?  
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After about half an hour of practicing, Liz stopped to stare at Roy. "Miss A, how am I supposed to play when your boyfriend is staring at you like that? He's ruining my chi!" It was true that the colonel was staring at Alice. It just floored him that such a quiet, timid woman could teach someone to play that difficult-looking instrument. He also couldn't understand why Alice looked so happy whenever Liz played a piece well.

"Liz. He isn't staring. You're being ridiculous. If you say one more word about it, you will be leaving my house, and the lesson will end." This threat wouldn't have worked on many of Alice's students, but Liz genuinely enjoyed her lessons. To even mention taking it away instantly shocked her into submission. Liz became the ultimately obedient student.

The next half-hour, as Alice had planned, passed without a hitch. Roy ate his sandwich, although her heart sank every time he moved in fear of him touching her stove. Liz, never one to be ignored, made certain to give Roy another up-and-down before turning to Alice and saying, "Yes, Miss A. I approve."

Before Alice could respond to this, Liz was already out the door and running through the rain. Alice smiled slightly and shook her head as she closed the door. She turned to find none other than Roy Mustang standing directly behind her. "What a strange girl," he said with his signature smirk.

"That may be," Alice replied, "but she's also one of my best students. Not to mention that she's always good for a laugh. Oh, how was your sandwich?"

"It was quite good," Roy answered politely. "I can't remember the last time I had a sandwich." The woman's cheeks turned a light pink.

"Well, uh, there's still half an hour before my next student comes. The rain doesn't seem to be letting up any..."

"What do you suggest we do in the meantime?" Roy crossed his arms and casually leaned against the door frame. Alice stood for a few moments and marveled at how cool the colonel always managed to look. It was a skill that she most definitely lacked.

Alice looked down at her feet; the girl was far from skilled socially. "I, um, apologize. I'm not very good at entertaining people. I never have been." She looked longingly towards the wall that separated Ivy's apartment from her own, really wishing that Ivy would come over for once in her life.

"We could just sit and talk, if you were comfortable with that." Roy gestured to her furniture, and she quickly took a seat, thankful for something to do other than twiddling her thumbs.

"So... the military," Alice began lamely. "What exactly does your job entail?" It was a dumb question, and even _she_ knew it. At the very least she was trying. That alone should have made Ivy very proud of her neighbor.

"I boss around the underlings," Roy chuckled before moving on. "Havoc is one of my select team, and there are four others who constitute it. They're a merry band of idiots, but they always manage to pull together for me in the end."

"Well, they sound interesting," Alice said with a small smile. She always wondered what it would be like to work alongside other people.

"Just wait until you meet them."

"Wh-What?"

"Well, I figured that the team would want to meet Havoc's darling younger sister," Roy replied with a wink. "And meet my 'girlfriend'." He couldn't help but laugh at Alice's face. It was a look of red-hot shock. "I was kidding. You take things way too seriously." She breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that Roy had been completely serious. "Although Havoc has been bragging around the office about his hot new-found sister, so I suspect that he'll eventually drag you to meet the team one day..."

Alice sighed. She wasn't used to meeting this many new people. She found the very idea of it exhausting. "Great..." Roy smirked slightly at her lack of enthusiasm. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Alice jumped at the sound. "That must be Benji," she said standing up and walking to the door.

At the door stood a boy of seventeen. He was black-haired and tall with light brown eyes. "Hello, Benji. Shall we begin?" Alice stepped aside from the door so the boy could walk in.

"Whoa, Miss A. Were you aware that there's a man in your house?"

Alice sighed and put her hand on her forehead. "Yes, Benji, I am quite aware. Though thank you for your concern."

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang," Roy said as he stood and shook the boy's hand.

"Benji Jeck. Colonel, huh? My dad was in the military too."

"Hmm... Jeck... Can't say that I know him. Is he still active?" Roy stroked his chin in thought.

"No, he isn't. He died in the war in Ishbal. He died from some sort of accident. The military wouldn't tell us anything other than that," Benji answered quietly. Roy turned solemn all of a sudden. Benji sat down at the piano and Alice started the lesson. She was surprised to see Benji open up to someone he had just met. It took her several sessions for him to say much of anything to her at first. She supposed that maybe Mustang somehow reminded him of his deceased father, but Alice wasn't about to ask. It seemed to be a tender subject, not only for Benji, but also for Roy.

Benji played heartwrenchingly well that day, and it was all Alice could do to not hug him on the spot. She couldn't keep the stupid grin off her face however,

"That was... phenomenal! There isn't an adjective to describe how beautiful that was, Benji. Your legato was so fluid, there wasn't a gap anywhere... oh, it makes me want to scream with joy." Alice was radiant with happiness, gaining more joy from her students' efforts than from anything else. When Benji gave her a quick smile before turning back to the piano, she was content.

"I know you don't enjoy it like many do..." Alice whispered, "but you're fantastic Benji. You're really, really good. You've got a lot more talent than I, and I hope you're able to put it to use." Benji stared at the wall intently, seeming to ignore Alice. The pianist sighed, and said, "Well, since you've played so wonderfully today, I suppose I'll let you go early. Just tell your mother; she might dock my pay."

Alice ended with a slight giggle, although it seemed as though Benji hadn't been listening. He stood up abruptly, approaching Roy where he had been sitting on the couch.

"You were in Ishbal too, yeah?" Roy nodded silently at the boy's words. "If you ever… if you ever hear anything about my dad, tell Miss A so I can figure out what happened to him. It kills me every day when I see my mom cry over something that I can't even begin to fix."

Roy met Benji's eyes steadily, his own dark with hidden pain. "I'll do what I can, kid, but… don't expect much. The State's tight with what happened at Ishbal."

Benji made his way for the door, stopping before stepping out into the torrential downpour. "I used to think that I wanted to be in the military too, just like Dad. After all they've put my mother through, I've changed my mind."

"I understand. The military isn't for everyone. Stick to the piano, kid. It's your chance to make people happy. That's one thing that the military has never been able to accomplish." Benji nodded and ran home. Roy looked down, suddenly interested in the floorboards.

Alice stepped closer to the man. "Are you okay, Colonel?" she asked timidly.

Roy sighed before looking into Alice's green eyes. "I'm fine. And you can call me Roy, you know."

"Oh, um, yes. Sorry."

"If your students play that well, I can only imagine what your playing sounds like," Roy said with a faded smile after a slightly awkward silence. "Would you play something for me, Alice?" Alice smiled, turning slightly pink as she went over to the piano and sat down.

"What kind of piece would you like to hear?"

"Anything."

Alice shuffled through her music. She smiled slightly when she came to a certain piece. She straightened up and began to play. The beginning was quiet and playful. Roy closed his eyes, and the melody carried him away. His childhood; back when everyone was blissfully unaware of the evils of the world. The music grew more triumphant and a bit louder. Reckless adolescence; becoming a State Alchemist and how proud he was; and how young. The music became louder and more steady. Even stomping of soldier boots on Ishbal's dusty ground haunted the air. The music grew intense suddenly, like there was a battle raging. And suddenly there was a twinge of sadness in the notes as the battle raged on. Roy tensed up suddenly at a bad memory before the piano grew soft and full of regret. Gradually, the notes sweetened and the tempo relaxed. The last chord was... bittersweet was the only adjective to be thought of.

Alice stood up and walked slowly over to Roy. His eyes were still closed and his body tensed. "Um, Roy? Are you sure you're okay?" she asked quietly.

He looked up, a bit startled at her voice. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. That was really quite beautiful." Alice blushed. "I think the rain's letting up," he said nodding at the window. "I think it's about time that I leave."

"It's been lovely, Alice. I'd be delighted if you'd let me come back again sometime." He didn't look at the pianist, and she wouldn't have made eye contact anyway. He took a few steps towards the door before Alice spoke, so softly that it could've been mistaken for silence.

"Um... I think I'd like to see you again. Maybe even meet your team someday, if they'll have me." She shuffled her feet, waiting for the cruel cut-down, but all Roy did was look back, smile, tip his hat, and step out the door without another glance.

At the last moment, however, Roy looked back to the shy woman, and said, "Well... I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, Alice Ackerman." All Alice could manage was a small wave, and a slight but heartfelt smile.

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**Quick last note: What do people in the FMA fandom have against OCs? We were just wondering. We noticed there aren't many OC fics here...**


	4. Leave My Kitten Alone

**The title of this chapter is adorable, in my opinion. This chapter was written entirely over e-mail, but it's still beastly if we do say so.**  
**In other news - Lissa and I 3 our reviewers! The love goes out to RedRose-Requiem (Thanks very much for your praising of Alice! She's one of our favorites! :)), chocolvr69 (Actually... we're going to try and update Young and Hostile this week... .), and Tears of a Fallen Angel223 (Why, thank you love!). There isn't much more to be said, except thanks!**

Disclaimer: **We, uh, don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I always think this is kind of given, but hey, I'm not one who likes to get into legal trouble. -shrugs-

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"A man just came out of your house." Ivy came bursting through Alice's door, without any regard whatsoever for the latter's privacy. Roy had just left a few minutes before, and Alice had hardly had time to gather her bearings before the neighboring woman's nosy nature got the better of her.

"O-oh. You mean Roy? It was raining outside, so I let him 'take shelter' here…" Alice explained half-heartedly, knowing that her neighbor would blow it out of proportion.

"…You fornicated, didn't you, Alice Ackerman?" Alice rolled her eyes, but couldn't help blushing the slightest bit.

"If anyone fornicates between the two of us, Ivy, I'm pretty sure it's you." Ivy stuck her tongue out childishly, and Alice mimicked her actions.

"Anyway, who is he? I have to know _everything,_ Alice!" She started to push her way in, but Alice wouldn't budge. Ivy had to go home, giving the pianist a whiny, puppy-dog look the entire way.

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The next day was Tuesday, and Alice awoke, readying herself with her morning routine. She would have to go to the market later, but not until 10:40; now, it was only nine. The woman had caught herself wondering whether or not Roy would come by again. He said he would, but who knew? She was foolish for thinking he would come now, however; he obviously had to work.

The time came, and Alice set off for the market with bag in hand. It was one of the highlights of Alice's week, going to the market. There were so many sights to see, although she rarely engaged any of them herself.

The young woman went around buying what she would need for that particular week: cold meats, cheese, vegetables, milk, etc. On that particular day, she decided to buy a small package of brownies. She wistfully hoped that she would be able to share them with someone. Someone who wasn't Ivy.

It was around noon when Alice began to make her way home. She made herself a sandwich and taught two students for the day. They weren't at the same level as Liz and Benji. Alice liked to classify her students' abilities by which day she taught them. Mondays were her experts. Tuesdays were her getting-there-but-not-quite-experts students. And so on.

After both lessons, Alice sat down on the couch and sighed. "I guess he's not coming," (HAHA! THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!) she said to herself. About an hour later, there was a knock on her door. She stood and opened the door.

"Hello, Alice. Mind if I come in?" Alice stood aside so Roy could step in. "I have a favor to ask," he began. Alice grew a bit tense. What kind of favor could she possibly do for him?

"What is it?"

"I was conned by a tin can and a pipsqueak," he reached into his pocket. "I'm not very good with this kind of thing...And I was wondering if you could temporarily take care of it until I can con it onto Havoc." Alice looked very confused. She had no idea what he was talking about. Roy's hand emerged from his pocket along with a little ball of fluff.

Alice walked closer to Roy cautiously. The fluff ball stirred and turned its frightened, bright green eyes to Alice. Alice's jaw dropped. "Awwww..." she sighed. "Can I hold him?" Roy was taken aback by the usually quiet woman's enthusiasm. It was just a damn kitten, after all. Roy handed the orange and white fluff ball over to Alice.

Alice cooed and the kitten purred. "He seems to like you," Roy smirked and reached out to pet the cat. The kitten hissed and Roy's hand retreated.

"Aww...There, there. It's okay, little guy. Can I keep him?" Alice's eyes were pleading.

"Are you sure you want him?" Alice nodded profusely. "Well, I suppose so. Though I was so looking forward to forcing him upon Havoc. Oh well..."

Alice giggled as the kitten batted at her long, red-brown hair. "Now, what shall I call you?" she held the kitten up as if to get a good look at him.

"I got it. He shall henceforth be named: Foofy Vladimir, Lord of the Flame!" Roy struck a triumphant pose.

"Uh... No offence, Roy, but I think that's a bit too, um, ridiculous, if you catch my drift?" He was a bit more… manic, than Alice was used to, although she'd only met him a couple of times, and that was the dumbest title she had ever heard.

"I'm glad you think so. If you named that cat that, I might have been forced to whisk him away." The kitten jumped down until the floor, padding around curiously, investigating the various items in Alice's home. Something in her kitchen, however, must have frightened him, for the ball of fuzz squealed and jumped into the air.

Alice giggled, then blurted out, "Staccato. That makes perfect sense. His name's Staccato." Roy raised an eyebrow as Alice knelt on the floor, holding out a hand for the newly named Staccato to sniff. "Thanks, Roy. He's a sweetheart." The kitten nuzzled her hand, giving Alice's index finger a quick lick.

An explosion of the door bursting open sent the kitten running, and Roy was immediately at the ready, apparently ready to knock out whoever was coming in. Alice, however, wasn't too shocked by the intrusion.

"Ivy Perry! This is getting ridiculous!" Alice scolded the girl who had coming skidding into the house without a thought. At the sight of Roy, Ivy squealed, hugging Alice for all she was worth.

"I'm so _proud_ of you, Alice! All this time I thought you were completely and entirely socially inept, but, but… you got a boyfriend! And he's even _attractive!"_ Alice turned bright red, looking from Roy, to Ivy, to her shoes.

"He's not really my boyfriend… he just brought me a cat…" Said creature popped his head into the room, looking up at Ivy and then rubbing against her leg. The girl's eyes lit up, and she picked up the ball of fur with care.

"Aww…" All the talk of Roy was forgotten momentarily. "He's adorable, Alice! What's his name?"

Alice smiled; she'd already grown fond of the kitten. "Staccato. He's a little jumpy, so I figured that the name fit pretty well."

"Personally, I don't get it, but okay," Ivy responded as she rubbed the kitten's ears. "Wow, Alice. You've got yourself a keeper."

"Yeah, he's a cute little guy, huh?"

"I wasn't talking about the cat," Ivy responded with a wink. Alice turned a shade of red.

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

Roy cleared his throat. "I believe she's referring to me." He gave the two women his "melting grin". Ivy melted while Alice continued to stare at the floor, her cheeks still red. Staccato, on the other hand decided to hiss at the man.

"Hush, Staccato," Alice said taking the kitten in her arms. "We like Roy, don't we?" The cat hissed again.

Roy chuckled. "I'll take that as a no. Well, I have to get going anyway. There are some things that I must attend to."

"Oh, okay. Well, thanks for stopping by. And also for giving me Staccato," Alice gave him a genuine smile.

Roy couldn't help but give a slight smile back. "You're welcome, Alice." He stepped out into the darkening street.

"Well, uh, see you soon?" Alice asked questioningly.

Roy smirked and replied, "I don't see why not," before disappearing down the street. Alice went back to petting Staccato, cheeks still red, but Ivy would have none of it.

"Okay, so, he's freaking gorgeous."

"_Ivy!_"

"What? It's totally true, and it's absolutely glaringly obvious that you're totally into him."

"Oh, no. It's just a little joke we have. When we first met, um, I called him my boyfriend to get out of a sticky situation. You don't remember, because you were totally drunk." Ivy shrugged; the fact that she was wasted didn't seem to faze her, probably because she was that way a quarter of the time anyhow.

"Oh, give it a rest, Ivy. Roy and I are just friends. Besides, I've only talked to him three times; just because he's attractive doesn't mean I'm entirely infatuated with him. I'm not _you, _for God's sake." Alice gave her friend a wink, and Ivy rolled her eyes before flicking her forehead. It was true, though; Alice enjoyed Roy's company, of course, but it wasn't as though she was tripping over herself to gain his attention.

"...On the bright side, if you two ever fornicate, you'll make pretty babies-" Staccato interrupted Ivy's awkward statement by mewing loudly. Alice's eyes widened, and she looked frantically to the kitchen.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I just realized - I don't know if I have anything for him to eat..."

"Oh, calm down... I'm sure you have something." Alice and Ivy rushed into the kitchen, searching through her cupboards and the things she'd bought at the market when Ivy held up the milk the woman had bought triumphantly.

"Cats like milk! Er, I think, anyway." Their suspicions were correct, however, and Staccato was thoroughly full when he was done, purring with a gorged stomach.

The women sighed, having dealt with that disaster without too much difficulty. Ivy soon left against her will.

"But it's only like 9:30!" she wailed.

"And I only have like three students to teach tomorrow, plus I have to go out and find supplies for Staccato in the morning." Ivy pouted and trudged home.

After checking all the light bulbs, Alice picked up her tiny kitten and scratched his belly. He purred with content as she carried him to her room. She changed into a nightgown and crawled into bed. Staccato had already made himself comfortable on the other side of her double bed.

Alice smiled softly at the little kitten. She realized that this would be the first time since moving out of her parents' home that she shared a house with someone. She patted the kitten's fluffy orange head, and thought to herself about how kind it was of Roy to give her Staccato. Alice made a mental note to properly thank the man the next time she saw him.

Alice yawned and settled down into the covers. The kitten woke up just long enough to cuddle up next to Alice's warm body, and fell asleep immediately after getting comfortable. Alice smiled sleepily down at her new companion. But soon enough, both were sleeping soundly; dreaming of nothing but military men and cold milk...


	5. Sure to Fall

**A/N: Awwh... no reviews or anything last chapter? :( I know you guys hate OCs, but Alice is _different_ from the rest! _Different_, I tell you! As in, she can't use no stinking alchemy! -cough- Anyway; here's chapter 5~  
Youguysyouguysyouguysyouguys I think Staccato is my favorite character. And Lex is a new member of the M.S.A. -sings out without reserve- Enjoy the newest installment of Bittersweet!**

Disclaimer: **If we owned Fullmetal Alchemist... which we don't, sadly... we wouldn't go to conventions and stalk the characters' cosplayers obsessively. -dun nuh-**

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The next morning, Alice awoke to a fluffy orange tail in her face. "Good morning to you, too, Staccato," she yawned. The kitten mewed. Alice quickly dressed herself and took the kitten downstairs for breakfast. She had buttered bread, and he had a bowl of meat and a bit of cold meat. Soon enough, Staccato was loaded into a basket and they walked to the market. They strolled alongside the shops only stopping to get two bowls and some kitten food. They then walked over to the library to save a trip later in the day. Alice was careful to keep Staccato concealed in the basket. Though, at one point, she had to pretend that she was meowing to herself, causing her to blush deeply.

Alice barely made it home in time for her first lesson of the day. She heard a sharp knock on the door only a few moments after she walked into her house. "Ah, Addie, right on time, come in." The little redheaded girl walked in slowly. It never ceased to amaze Alice how sisters could look alike, but be complete opposites. Liz and Addie were prime examples of this.

The little girl turned back to Alice. "Miss A, were you aware that there's a strange man in your house?" she asked quietly. Alice smiled, about to explain that Roy wasn't strange and that she was quite aware that he was ther...Wait! Roy wasn't there! Alice slowly peeked into her living room and sighed in relief.

"Hiya, sis," the blonde man said with a wink and a wave.

"How did you get in here, Havoc?"

Jean smirked. "Why so formal with your own brother? Call me Jean, sis. And Ivy let me in. She's in the kitchen looking for something called a 'Staccato'..."

Addie shot Alice a questioning look. "Miss A, why are they looking for a piece of articulation?" Alice couldn't help but giggle at the ten year old's question.

"Don't think too long on it, Addie. Staccato's my new kitten, who is probably in my room hiding from my 'brother'." She smiled at Jean, who gave her a small shrug.

"Hey, what can I say? I'm such a scary kind of guy."

"I have a lesson to teach, so tell Ivy that whatever escapades she has planned will have to wait, Jean." The blonde frowned slightly.

"Well damn. I've only got so long for a lunch break."

"U-um, sorry... Lessons usually take about an hour, Jean."

Alice's spastic neighbor made her usual dramatic entrance, kneeling down and taking Addie's hands in her own. "Darling piano protege, I'm terribly sorry for your misfortune. It seems Alice is unwell, and therefore unable to school you in the art of the 88 keys. You must forgive her; please, go home, and tell your mother the wretched news. Come back next week. Perhaps she'll be rested enough to take on students then."

Addie looked from Alice to Jean to Ivy and said, "Hey, I don't mind missing a lesson." She took a step towards the door and gave Alice a smirk. "Get better soon, Miss A!"

"Thank you, Addie, it means a lot..."

"Go, sweet child! You wouldn't want to catch dear Alice's illness! Run like the wind!" Ivy continued.

"Miss A, maybe you should consider investing in more normal neighbors...See you next week!" the little girl left with a slight skip in her step. Alice sighed and went to close the door.

"Nope! Sorry, Alice but you're having lunch with your brother and I today!" Ivy exclaimed, dragging Alice out the door. Luckily, Jean made sure that the door was locked before they took off down the street.

"Where are we going, Ivy?" Alice asked, trying to catch her breath. Ivy shrugged and looked to Jean for an answer. Jean pointed up a little ways to a little restaurant. Within a few minutes, all three were seated at a small table in front of the main window.

"I don't really get how you two can be siblings," Ivy began, "I mean, Alice, from what I've seen in pictures, you and your sister would look almost identical except she's older. But you and your brother honestly look nothing alike... And you also have different last names."

Alice and Jean exchanged a look. They didn't expect the woman to catch on that fast. "Well, Jean here favors our father's side of the family while Charlotte and I favor Mother's side," Alice said quickly, sipping at her water. It wasn't entirely untrue... Jean sort of looked like her uncle...a little...from a distance. At any rate, they both smoked. Alice was thankful that this was a non-smoking restaurant.

"The only real resemblance we have to each other is the eyes, although I think I'm better-looking."

"Well, then, I think it's fairly obvious who got the brains…" Alice couldn't help mumbling softly. Jean shot her a raised eyebrow, and Alice shrugged, having slipped into the role of little sister more quickly than she had thought possible. In fact, she wasn't even sure why they were playing along with this; it wasn't as though they could keep up this charade forever.

The waiter came and took their orders for drinks, and after, Ivy reached across the table, grabbing for Alice's hands. When she couldn't find them, Ivy settled for resting her chin in her hand, staring intently at the other woman. "So? Tell me more about this man you've got yourself! What's he like? I mean he's military and all, I know that, but what rank is he? What's his specialty? Is he an alchemist?"

The bombardment of questions went unanswered by Alice, as she got redder by the second.

"Eh? Who's this man you've got, sis?"

Jean Havoc knew quite well who had been hanging out around Alice; he just liked to make her uncomfortable.

"Oh, you know him. Er, uh, he's a colonel, Ivy, but I don't know much more than that about him, I guess."

"Oh come _on_!" The younger girl's whining was incessant."You've gotta know more than that!"

"Er, um, his name's Roy Mustang…?"

"Ah, yes, Colonel Roy Mustang…" Jean let loose a smile, finally able to let on that he knew Alice's 'friend.' "I work under him. One of his 'underlings,' I suppose you would call me. He's a good guy, if a little smug sometimes." He couldn't stop himself from saying that, despite having promised not to infringe on the bet. Well, what Mustang didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Eh? Oh! You never told me that, Brother." A look passed from the woman to Jean, and he shrugged.

"You never ask much about work, Sis. I always figured it wouldn't much interest you."

"Well, I, uh," Alice began before Ivy interrupted.

"She wants to hear about work so long as it includes a tall, dark, and handsome colonel." Ivy winked at her blushing neighbor.

"Th-that's not true!"

"Why, Sis, don't tell me that you love this man. Well, do you?" Jean prodded.

"Wh-what? No! I've only met him three times!"

"Oh, so you count how many times you get to see him?" Ivy fired.

"I wasn't aware that my darling sister was in such a serious relationship..."

The waiter came by with their meals and drinks. "Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked, looking at Alice's red face. Alice nodded silently. The waiter shrugged and walked away.

The rest of their meal went by rather pleasantly. The conversation drifted away from Alice's "boyfriend/lover" for the majority of lunch. They ordered cake for dessert. Alice was excited. She enjoyed satisfying her sweet tooth every once in a while. They had just gotten their cake when Roy walked into the restaurant.

"Havoc!" he barked. Jean turned around, cake in mouth.

"Sir?"

"Do you realize that you've been gone for twice the allotted time for lunch?" Havoc looked at the clock and his eyes grew wide. Roy sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "If you weren't one of the more competent underlings, I'd demote you, then I'd discharge you... You're lucky that you amuse me, Havoc...Damn lucky."

Havoc stood and saluted his superior officer. "Sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"It better not. Hello, Miss Perry, Alice." Ivy gave an enthusiastic hello and Alice just mumbled, not looking at him.

"Well, Jean and I will be going now," Ivy said, tugging at Jean's sleeve. "He has work, and I have to go find something to do." Jean saluted before leaving. "Oh, and Alice, make sure that you and your boyfriend practice safe fornication!" Ivy added with a wink. Alice blushed deeply.

"_Ivy! You're the only one out of the two of us that fornicates!" _Roy gave a chuckle, Havoc a smile, and Ivy shrugged, leaving a bright red Alice alone in the restaurant, with naught but cake to console her. Or, well, that was what she thought, until Alice realized that the Colonel hadn't left. The woman stared down at her cake for a moment before saying, ever so articulately, "Um, eh… Would you like some?"

"You know," Roy took the seat across from her, "it wouldn't kill you to act like you weren't petrified every time you saw me."

"S-sorry. I've never really been very good with people…" Alice looked away, not able to meet his eyes at the accusation his words implied, and he laughed a bit.

"I can tell," Roy's eyes, however, were lighthearted. When Alice didn't speak, Roy started again, "Your friend seems to be under the impression that everyone who goes out with someone of the opposite gender has sex."

"Yeah," Alice's eyes narrowed at the thought of the obnoxious girl's comments. "If anyone's going to _fornicate_, as she says I do, it's going to be her and my 'brother' for sure." Roy smiled widely at seeing the quiet pianist so blatantly out of character.

"Little fed up with her comments, are you?"

Alice sighed. "I love her to death, but… sometimes I wish she'd just stop talking."

The woman tenderly picked at her piece of cake, suddenly not hungry in the presence of the black-haired man in front of her.

"Why do you keep coming to see me?" Alice asked quietly. It was an honest question, one that she'd been thinking about more than she wanted to reveal. Roy sat back in his chair, closing his eyes and thinking.

"Well… I suppose you make a decent change from the cutthroat attitude of the military, to be honest." True enough, Roy supposed, despite the bet he'd made with his subordinate. Truthfully, Alice reminded him a lot of Fuery; a little less goofy, perhaps, but with that same sense of innocence and naïveté.

"Oh. So I'm just a distraction from work?" The question was innocent enough. She didn't even use an accusing tone.

Roy looked at the small woman nibbling at her cake. "In a way, yes." Roy stood up, noticing Alice's look of slight disappointment. He moved towards the door. "But you're one of the best distractions I've had in a very long while. I'll see you Friday, then?" He smiled, tipped his hat and exited the restaurant without even bothering to hear her answer.

Alice took a bite of cake and smiled despite herself. She decided that maybe being a distraction wouldn't be too terrible...


	6. When I Get Home

**A/N:** Hey! Hey! Hi! We're awesome! We updated! :D Okay, that's enough happy-fun-time for Lissa. So...This chapter, as most of our works are, was written entirely over email. So, it's quite beastly. And this chapter introduces a few more minor OCs that really don't matter too much, but we love them anyway. ^^ Oh, and it sorta makes my heart cry that everyone likes Ivy better than Alice... :( I love Ivy too, but Alice needs some loving as well... So if you want to be my favorite person ever, you should review and send some love in Alice's direction. God knows she needs it... ;)

**Special thanks to our reviewers. You guys are awesome in so many ways. We love you (not in a creepy way. Okay, maybe a little. ;)): **Requiem (Firstly, no problem! I enjoyed it! And secondly, naming animals musical terms is the best way to show band geek pride! :)), chocolvr69 (We just want to say that we love you and we're glad that you enjoy Jean. :D), Fire and Ice (WE HEART YOUR FACE FOR REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! Yeah. And now you don't have to flounder around anymore! :D Well, at least not until you finish this chapter...)

**Disclaimer:** Look, we don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. We just don't. Sorry to disappoint anyone... xD

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Alice hadn't been able to see Roy Mustang the following day, and she didn't on Thursday either. Thursdays were Alice's days to visit her sister, who lived all the way over on the opposite side of Central. It was always a nice respite, or at least it got her out of the house; she felt a little guilty leaving Staccato with Ivy though. Alice wasn't certain she could trust the woman. She would have felt safer leaving the kitten with Roy, but she figured that was too much of a favor to ask; therefore, Staccato went to Alice's neighbor.

Alice's sister went by the name of Charlotte Lauden, formerly Ackerman as her younger sister did. She had married a carpenter named Brent, and never looked back for a single moment; he was Charlotte's very own personal happily-ever-after. Ever since the day they were married, the elder woman had nagged Alice to get a husband of her own, for only then, Charlotte declared, could Alice be truly happy. Despite her high-strung tendencies, Alice really adored her older sister, and visited diligently every single week without fail.

This week, however, Alice knew something was very, very wrong as she approached the door. Charlotte stood in the doorway, staring at her younger sister with an unsatisfied look on her face. Alice gulped, and froze a few steps before reaching Charlotte. The older reached out a hand, and said, "Step into my parlor, said the spider to the fly."

With that, the woman had pulled Alice into her home, screeching in tones that Alice was unused to. "Why didn't you tell me you got a _boyfriend,_ Alice?"

"WHAT? I don't have one!"

"Au contraire! That's not what Ivy told me!"

Ivy, it seemed, had called the older Ackerman sister, filling her in on the happenings of the week gone by. Had Alice had a choice, Charlotte never would have found out about Roy Mustang.

"Ivy's a bit of a drunk. You shouldn't listen to her!" Alice replied quickly.

"Well, at least she tells me things! My darling younger sister doesn't talk to me anymore." The elder sister pouted.

"Aunty Alice! Aunty Alice!" her niece and nephew came tottering in from the other room.

Alice gave her six year old niece a hug and picked up her year and a half old nephew. "Brianna, Luke!" she said with a giggle. "How are you two?"

Luke gurgled in response while Brianna (having her mother's aptitude for talking) went on a rampage of what had happened that week. Alice couldn't help but smile at the little girl. It was amazing how alike she was to her mother.

"Aunty Alice? Is it true that you're going to get married?"

Alice nearly choked on her drink. "Wh-What? No, sweetheart. What gave you that idea?"

"Well, Mommy said that you were getting married and you were going to get some little cousins for me to play with."

Well, thanks to Charlotte, Alice apparently had a little explaining to do. "Brianna, sweetheart, I'll get married and have kids eventually; just, it probably won't be any time soon." The girl pouted, and then her brother hit her in the back of the head with a shoe, and she ran off after him squealing loudly.

Alice chuckled, and turned to face Charlotte. "So? Who is he?" the other woman questioned.

"Ivy blew things way out of proportion, Sis. This girl's so stupid that she's actually under the impression that I have a brother." Alice smiled at the long-running joke she had with Lieutenant Havoc. Seeing the look on Charlotte's face, Alice sighed, and began to tell her of her 'boyfriend' who wasn't really anything of the kind. "He's in the army, a colonel, and he was over at my house a couple times. It's not like he stayed the night or anything, Charlotte. It's nothing serious at all."

Charlotte cocked an eyebrow, clearly not believing the younger woman. "You know, I wouldn't be against you having a boyfriend anyway. It would be really quite good for you, I think."

"Roy's just a friend, Sis-"

"Oh, his name's Roy? Good strong name, Roy. When will I get to meet him?"

"Never, if I can help it," Alice mumbled under her breath.

"I don't think you understand the magnitude of the situation, Alice. Your youngest years are running out; you need to snag a man while you still have your looks about you!"

Alice blushed. "I'm not that old yet, Sis."

"No, but you aren't that young either! Look at me, I'm almost twenty-seven, and I'm already gaining weight like no tomorrow!"

"That's because you're _pregnant_, Charlotte. If you weren't gaining weight, that would be a problem."

She considered this for a moment. "Well, that may be true, but still! You, my dear little Alice, need to at least bring me a picture of this strapping young lad if you won't invite him over!"

Alice had no choice but to consent to her request. It was around that time that Brent came home from work. "Alice! How's my favorite sister-in-law?" He gave the woman a crushing hug. "And how's that new boyfriend of yours? I hear he's a real looker," he added with a wink. "Hey, Lottie." He took Charlotte in his arms and gave her a kiss. Alice blushed slightly at their display of affection and averted her eyes.

Charlotte looked over at her sister and said, "See, Alice? You should get married. If only for moments like these." The couple broke apart. "Alice, are you going to help with supper tonight?"

"Uh, um, in the _kitchen_?" Her sister nodded. "Uh, no thanks! I think I'll just stay out here with Brianna and Luke," she laughed nervously and practically darted into the living room.

Charlotte followed slowly behind her. "Still afraid, huh?" Alice nodded in shame. "God, Alice, that happened nearly twenty years ago, and you still let it control your life. I could understand being afraid for a few months, maybe a year, but not twenty years!" Alice continued to stare at the floor, her green eyes wide as if she were re-experiencing the event. Her sister sighed and retreated into the kitchen.

"Aunty Alice?" She looked up to find her niece with a concerned look on her little face staring at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, Bri. I'm fine," she lied placing a hand gently on the child's cheek. "I'm...fine."

That was the furthest thing from the truth she could possibly say, but the last thing Alice wanted to do was concern Brianna in the fiasco that was her psyche. The fewer people who knew about that whole bit, the better.

It wasn't like she hadn't _tried _to get over it; Alice knew she was being irrational every time she cringed in fear. It was just that, it had happened when she was so young that the event had been burned in her mind. Charlotte clearly didn't understand, but there was little the younger woman could do to cure the terrible phobia that plagued Alice's existence.

It made Alice feel like a little kid again, though, to know she had absolutely zero control over any part of her subconscious. Brianna continued to stare at her concernedly, and Alice faked a smile, trying to set the child to rest. She began to stand up from the chair where she had sat, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she would attempt to help Brent and Charlotte with the meal regardless; Alice froze the moment she began to take a step towards the kitchen.

"Aunty Alice, do you want to come play with me? Miss Dolly missed you while you were gone..." Brianna pulled a small plaything from behind her back, and when Alice nodded, the girl grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her into the other room. Alice willingly followed, picking up Luke and taking him with her.

"Awwh, Aunty, I don't want Luke to play! He's not very good at playing imagination!" Brianna pouted at her younger brother.

"Now, now," Alice smiled kindly, "he has to learn, Bri. If he doesn't, he won't ever be able to play with you; and that's the last thing you want, isn't it?"

Brianna thought for a moment before agreeing, and she and her aunt played with the youngest child while Charlotte and Brent (or rather, Charlotte) cooked. It killed her to not be able to help, but... at least she could keep the young ones occupied. That was an accomplishment in itself, no?

Soon enough, supper was ready and Alice picked up little Luke and took Brianna's tiny hand in her own. Alice inwardly gaped at the spread. To a more well-to-do family, it would seem like a mundane meal, but to Alice, it was far beyond her cooking abilities.

"Wow, Charlotte. This looks great!" Alice exclaimed as she sat her nephew in his highchair. Little Brianna took a seat next to her aunt. Alice's nose rejoiced at the smell of warm, freshly-roasted meat.

"You say that every week. You know, I don't think you're getting enough to eat. Perhaps you should stay here until Sunday night. Then we can get some good, hot meals into you."

Alice took a bite of meat and replied, "But I have students, Charlotte. I can't just abandon them. What kind of piano teacher would I be?"

"Ivy offered to tell your students that you're away with your darling elder sister."

"Yeah, Alice," Brent began, "why don't you just take a vacation?"

"Because I have an obligation to teach those kids."

"I'm sure they'll understand."

"Well, it's not just _that_, Charlotte. I have other obligations too!"

"Like what?" Charlotte raised her eyebrow and smirked at her sister's uncomfortable expression.

"I have to return my library books."

"Ivy offered to do that," the elder sister retorted.

"I've got to feed my cat."

"Ivy's taking good care of him."

"I need to practice piano."

"No you don't. You've never _had_ to practice a day in your life. You just chose to."

"Well, I, uh, I just have things to do!" Alice fired back. The dialogue between the two continued to pick up in speed and intensity.

"Like what?"

"I told you, I have an prior obligation."

"With whom?"

"Roy...Ah shoot..." Alice put her head in her palms. She couldn't believe that she actually let her sister get the best of her.

"Is that so!" Charlotte squealed with joy. "My sister has a date with a military man! I'm so happy for you, Alice!" Alice decided not to even bother with it. She just shook her head and redirected her attention back to her meal.

"So? Come on, fill me in! What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, Charlotte. He just said that he'd see me Friday, and he's never said something he wouldn't do yet." To be fair, Alice thought, she'd only spoken to him a few times; it seemed fairly obvious that he was  
pretty true to his word, though.

"Oh, come on, Alice! You have to know! Are you going to go out for dinner, go see a play?" Brent had lost interest in his wife's conversation, and had begun entertaining the children by making funny faces. Alice, however, was preoccupied with her sister.

"Well, we're probably going to fornicate..." Alice mumbled, Ivy's teasing getting the better of her. Charlotte's jaw dropped in shock, and the woman threw a spoon at her sister that Alice just barely managed to dodge.

"Alice Ackerman! Don't you dare speak like that in front of my children!"

"Mommy, what did Aunty Alice say?"

"Nothing, Brianna, go back to eating. And Brent, don't play with your food," Charlotte reprimanded her husband, who was drawing smilie faces in his mashed potatoes. Brent looked up innocently, and gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek, at which she smiled.

"I really am happy for you, Alice. And he had better treat you well."

"Charlotte, it's not like we're dating or anything. I only have a few friends at home, and Roy's one of them. Between him, Ivy, and our 'brother', whose name is Jean, by the way, I'm quite comfortable without a boyfriend." Alice tilted her head to the side and smiled as if to emphasize the point.

"Is our brother at least moderately attractive?" Charlotte stabbed at her food, momentarily forgetting the subject of Roy.

"Oh, Jean? I suppose so... Ivy, at the very least, seems infatuated with him. He's in the military, too. He's a, um, lieutenant I think, under Roy. Roy's a colonel." Alice smiled slightly, proud of herself for having remembered all the military jargon.

"You've snagged a colonel, Alice? Well done!" Brent sent her a wink, and Charlotte playfully slapped his arm.

"No. _I'm _the only one here allowed to tease the anti-social pianist."

Brent chuckled. "Sorry, dear."


	7. Act Naturally

**A/N: Ah, my loves! Chapter seven already? O.o Any concrit for our chapters? Let us knowww! We want to fix things to make it better! -shiny eyes-  
Thanks to - **_Fire and Ice (Stop floundering, even if it is a cool word. ;)) and chocolvr69 (Brent's exactly like Lex's dad, to be honest. .)  
_Disclaimer: **We don't own... oh shuddup. You already know it's not ours. Read onnn. -bursts into an Aerosmith re-enactment- "Dream onnn!"**

* * *

It wasn't long before Alice left her sister's house for the week. She hugged and kissed her family goodbye. "Alice, I expect to hear every single detail about your date tomorrow night!" her sister called.

"It's not a date, Charlotte!" she called back before mumbling, "Well, at least I don't think it is..."

Alice made it home late that night. She stopped by at Ivy's only long enough to pick up Staccato and to tell Ivy to stop calling her sister. She then went to bed snuggled up to Staccato and fell into a deep sleep.

That next morning, Alice awoke around eight, giving herself an hour to get ready. Not knowing when Roy was coming that day, and not knowing what they were going to be doing, she decided to go for a classic look: a black, knee-length dress with black shoes and a bright-colored scarf just below her bust. Alice decided to leave her hair down. This was mostly because she was running late and still needed to eat breakfast.

Alice had just managed to choke down a piece of bread and feed Staccato before there was a knock on her door. She sighed before opening the door. Fridays were the worst. This was when she took her least accomplished students...So basically, she taught the five year olds that day. She opened the door to a mother and her two little girls. Two hours with two little girls and their mother. Fantastic.

Alice had nothing against beginners...it was just painful at times. Like when they decided to use their fists to pound out the melody... Or when they forgot that the F was sharp...

"No, Willa, that's an F sharp," Alice hit the note to show the little girl.

"Miss A, I don't understand what pointy letters have to do with piano!"

Alice had to fight the urge to drop her head into her hands. "Willa, dear, the black keys are referred to as sharps and flats... Remember? We covered this on the first few weeks that we were together." She found herself praying that Roy would come to the door; in fact, she didn't even want _him_ there. Alice just wanted a distraction to pull her away from Willa's horrendous playing for a moment.

He didn't, though, and that was far from surprising. Roy had to work, and, unlike the shy pianist, he couldn't do so from home. Therefore, Alice suffered through Willa's lesson alone, without even an interruption from Ivy. The woman was actually a little irritable, which was highly out of character for Alice; Willa was, thankfully, a far from sensitive student, and therefore willing to take Alice's slightly more snarky attitude for the day, shooting back when she felt necessary.

The woman took a few breaths, trying to calm herself. Her rising irritation was due to the fact that she was nervous; it was the first time that they'd actually made a real commitment to do anything, and frankly, she was worried it wouldn't go well. If she were him, she would have gotten bored of Alice Ackerman quite quickly, she thought.

When Willa left (and she thanked the heavens the moment that the girl walked out her front door), Alice got a few moments of respite before her next student, a boy named Thomas came. She played with Staccato for a bit, marveling at the kitten's ability to amuse himself no matter the situation. Having had only a piece of bread for breakfast, she stepped back into the kitchen treating herself to another slice before Thomas showed up.

The day wore on. She made it through two more painful piano lessons before there was a knock at her door. Alice sighed and got off the couch. She half-expected another student to be at her door, but she was mistaken. Roy smiled as the exhausted woman opened the door. "Hello, Roy," she said quietly, looking at the floor. She knew that if she didn't avert her eyes, they'd be glued to the finely dressed man before her.

"Hello, Alice. Are you ready to go?"

Alice looked Roy over. He wore a crisp white shirt, slacks, dress shoes, and a black suit jacket. "Um, uh...Where are we going exactly?" she questioned nervously.

"Does that really matter?" he replied with a smirk.

"I suppose not..." she brought a hand up to her lips, "Should I change clothes?"

Roy smirked again. "Your carriage awaits, m'lady." He gestured to the car and offered his arm to Alice.

"Well, um, uh, okay..." she reluctantly took his arm after turning off all the lights and locking the door. He opened the car door and helped her inside before going to the driver's seat. Roy Mustang didn't generally drive, but... Havoc had refused to drive his "sister" and his superior officer to a date.

And, well, to be frank, he certainly wasn't going to ask Riza to drive. That would just have been _awkward._

Alice fidgeted awkwardly, fiddling with her dress and twiddling her thumbs. All of a sudden, she was genuinely wishing she had worn dressier clothes; compared to what he was wearing, she probably looked like a shmuck. "You look fine, sweetheart," Roy said, startling the woman, "and besides, sitting that stiffly can't be comfortable." He turned, looking briefly towards her, giving a smirk and chuckling.

The woman blushed. "S-sorry. It's just, as you know, I'm not all that great socially."

Roy half-smiled again, one-arming the wheel. "Hey, the least we can do is try to fix that, yeah?"

Alice looked out the window quietly, and said, "Yes. I suppose so." Shaking her head, she tried to get out of the damn funk that she had seemed to fall into. It was because she was nervous, but that was no reason to act even _more _awkward than usual!

"Here we are." Roy pulled the car into a parking lot and got out. He opened Alice's car door and once again offered his arm, which she took with a bit more confidence.

"Where is here exactly?" she asked quietly.

Roy gave a smirk and a wink before leading her to the front of the restaurant. Alice let a gasp escape her lips. She had never been to such a place and had never dreamed of ever going. It may not have been a five star restaurant, but it was nicer than any other place that Alice had ever been to. "Shall we?" Roy's question brought the pianist back to earth. She nodded silently. "Mustang, party of two," he said coolly to the greeter. They were lead to a table where two wine glasses and a candle were set up. Alice quickly blew out the candle as Roy busied himself with pulling out her chair for her.

Roy noticed this once he sat down. "Hmm. It seems our candle has gone out," he almost reached for his gloves, but remembered the bet. "Let me fix that." He began to raise his hand to call over the waiter, but Alice grabbed hold of it before anyone else could notice. "Well, well, well...That was mighty forward of you," he teased gently.

She blushed before saying quickly, "We don't need to bother them with lighting a candle. I think that it's better without. It, uh, adds to the ambiance!"

Roy raised an eyebrow and shrugged, letting the matter go. Alice mentally sighed in relief. Then she realized that she and Roy's hands were still entwined upon the table. Roy couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the woman's awkwardness. He decided that she must really not like candles in order to be so forward as to grab his hand. Either that, or she just wanted to hold his hand really badly... Roy decided that either way, he was starting to get the socially awkward pianist to open up a bit.

"U-uh..." Alice was certain her fingers were twitching, which was a nervous trait in her family. It was funny; she thought she had cured that quirk a long time ago. The woman continued to keep one eye on the smoke that was still flaring out from the wick of the candle that she had blown out. Her other eye was trained on her own hand, which was still fidgeting awkwardly.

Alice had begun to loosen her grip on the man's fingers, and continued to do so until she managed to slip her hand away. "So, um..."

Roy lifted the hand that she had let go of to his chin. "So? I usually do all the talking; do you have anything to say tonight?"

"Not really... I don't lead a very interesting life."

The whole 'anomaly' bit was starting to puzzle the military man. There really was no reason for her to be so secretive, he thought. "Havoc can't shut up about your friend Ivy. Apparently he thinks she was sent down from heaven for him, and him alone."

Alice had to chuckle at the thought. Ivy, sent down from heaven? That was about as likely as, as... as her being on a date with an attractive man. Well, that logic was flawed. "Really? It's funny; Ivy usually drops men after the first date unless they're redheads. She has a serious thing for gingers."

"To be fair, they might have only been out once. Havoc gets infatuated quite easily."

A silence ensued for a small while, although it was far from awkward compared to Alice's prior experiences. The waiter came, taking their order for drinks, and after, Alice actually managed to open a line of conversation.

"I went to see my sister yesterday. She's hell-bent on meeting you, although I assured her we weren't dating or anything." Immediately after the words came out of Alice's mouth, she couldn't believe she had said them. Charlotte's antics were the absolute _last _thing she wanted to talk about...

Roy cocked an eyebrow and smirked slightly. "Did you now? I wasn't aware that you had a sister. Any other siblings that you're keeping secret?"

"No, there's just Charlotte." She smiled slightly before adding, "And of course, my big brother, Jean."

Roy couldn't help but smile at the small woman. "So your sister wants to meet your lover, huh?" He slowly encased her hand in his and looked deeply into her eyes.

Alice's eyes widened in confusion. "Wh-what?"

Roy could only hold that face for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. He released her hand and leaned back in his chair. "You should have seen the look on your face," he said once his laughter died down and only a smirk remained. "Sorry about that, Alice. I just couldn't resist..." Alice let out a slight giggle once she understood what had happened.

"Don't do that again," she scolded with a grin on her face.

Roy let out another chuckle. "I can't promise anything."

Alice's body temperature had jumped about twelve degrees at Roy's absolutely ridiculous teasing, and her face began to cool down just as the waiter came again to take their order. Dinner progressed nicely, as far as Alice could tell; she thought, at least, that she laughed at all the correct times, and listened intently when she was supposed to. The last thing the woman wanted to do was make a mistake...

Alice served as a very nice distraction, Roy had decided; her quiet and shy demeanor made for a nice contrast, when taken in stride with all his military colleagues' personalities. Ivy must not have been too very bright; any person of average intelligence would be able to tell, from looks, personality, and mannerisms that Alice and Havoc weren't related.

The look on her face when Roy said he was her lover was priceless; that alone made this night entirely worth it.

"So... is there a story about your stove? Did it do something to make you hate it?"

Alice's eyes darkened instinctively, and she looked to the table briefly before lightheartedly saying, "Oh, um, that's not important. Staccato's doing well, by the way." It wasn't a very deft change of subject, but it would have to do...

It wasn't long before the two were back at Alice's doorstep. "Well, thank you, Roy. I had a lovely time," Alice smiled shyly.

Roy smiled politely. "So did I. Well, I suppose that I should get going. Good night, Alice." He gave her a gentlemanly kiss on the hand before retreating to his car.

Alice couldn't help but smile as she closed the door. "Well, Staccato," she said to the kitten who was circling her feet, "I survived my first date with Colonel Roy Mustang..." The kitten hissed at the mention of the man's name. "And you know what, Staccato? I think that I'd be willing to survive a few more..."


	8. Hello, Little Girl

**A/N:** Hola everyone! Salut! Ca va? And how art thoust today? We're actually publishing this before one in the morning! Yay! I really like this chapter. It's fluffy. I usually don't like fluff, but it's Roy so it's amusing. ^^ I actually helped with the fluff this time! And I didn't even kill it! :D This is an accomplishment! Okay, I'm done ranting... For now. Oh wait! I always wonder when Lex and I write together if our work flows. We have very different writing styles, so I was wondering if anyone could tell when the other would start writing. Could anyone tell us?

**Special thanks to our lovely reviewers:** chocolvr69 (Chocolate is quite delicious...As is Roy Mustang. :P I can see why it's a good combo. And she didn't kill anyone with an oven, by the way. ;)), Fire and Ice (Hi! I hope we don't mess Roy up... We've been trying to not make him so womanizing, and make him a tad more...what's the word...sweet, I guess? But if you have any other critiques, please let us know! ^^)

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Though Lex is now the proud owner of the complete anime series! :D But we don't own it in a legal sense...

* * *

Alice was absolutely petrified. She had a small _creature _in her house, alone with nothing more than she herself and Staccato. Never had she thought that she would say, "Roy Mustang has given me a child!" but here she was, in that exact situation. The military man had brought her a small (albeit adorable) child, and asked Alice to watch her for the day.

Alice, being Alice, could hardly say no. There were so many excuses she could have used; "I have students." "I'm not comfortable with this." Instead, the woman had said, "Sure, I can watch her for the day!"

So far, Elicia Hughes had been really, really well-behaved, but the thought of something bad happening to the girl while in Alice's care was eating away at her psyche, making her twitch with nervousness. When the little girl smiled, though, Alice couldn't help softly grinning back. Besides, Elicia seemed very content to just play with Staccato, who was thoroughly enjoying all the attention he was getting from the child.

"Miss Alice?"

"Please, Elicia, just call me Miss A."

"Um, Staccato seems hungry. Do you have anything for him to eat?"

The tiny girl with pigtails looked concernedly from the cat to her owner, and Alice nodded, whisking Elicia into the kitchen to get her darling feline something to eat. The look of irritation on Roy's face that morning had been rather amusing.

_A man showed up on Alice's doorstep, and she let him in, recognizing him as Roy Mustang._

_"Can you watch her today? Hughes is, apparently, under the impression that I can just take off work to watch his kid... His wife's away with some family, and he's on an investigation somewhere. I'll come get her as soon as I'm done at work... Can you please do me this favor, Alice?"_

_The woman nodded, and smiled, kneeling down to be on Elicia's level. "What's your name, dear?"_

Alice couldn't have asked for an easier first babysitting job; Elicia was a darling. She was quiet during the piano lessons, she didn't complain about her lunch of a cold meat sandwich, and she was just so darn cute...

"Whoa, Miss A, were you aware that there's a small child in your house?" Liz exclaimed as she walked through the door.

Alice sighed. "Yes, Liz. Thank you. This is Elicia Hughes; I'm watching her for the day. Elicia, this is Liz."

"Hi, Miss Liz," the little girl said shyly.

"AWWW! She is so precious! I wish my little sister were this cute!" Liz practically tackled the little girl in a hug.

Elicia didn't seem fazed by this at all. "Miss A? Why is Miss Liz acting like Daddy?"

"Um, I, um..." Alice began. "Liz, it's time to start the lesson."

"Aww..." Liz pouted. The lesson went by rather well. After tackling Elicia one last time, Liz left.

Alice and Elicia played with Staccato until her next student showed up. "Miss A, are you aware that there's a little girl here?" Benji asked quietly as he walked in. Alice introduced the two before starting Benji's lesson.

"Wow, Mr. Benji, you play really pretty," Elicia proclaimed, tugging on the boy's sleeve.

Benji smiled lightly. "It's all because of Miss A. If you ever want to learn, she's the one to go to." Alice blushed slightly at the praise, nodding thankfully. Benji was a sweet boy, second only to Liz as the woman's favorite; he was much more reserved than the other girl, and far less enthusiastic, but it was almost as though he was Alice's child more than her student.

Benji left soon after, and Elicia pulled herself up to the piano once the boy was gone. "Aunty A? Can you teach me to play?"

The sound of the word 'aunty' caused Alice's inhibitions regarding Elicia's safety to subside, and her heart melted. Sitting next to the child, then thinking better of it and standing up behind her, Alice acted as though she were going to press middle C, E, and G. "Can you copy that, Elicia, just pressing down harder?"

Elicia did so, having to use her left hand because of her lack of hand length. The girl jumped at the sound, squeeing with joy. "It's pretty, Aunty! What did I do? What's it called?"

Alice grinned softly; had this girl not already had parents, the attachment that she had to Elicia was growing so large that the pianist almost wanted to adopt the child herself. "It's called a chord, Elicia. You can make those anywhere on a piano, and in my opinion, they are absolutely beautiful." Elicia nodded in appreciation and there was a knock at the door.

"Hello, Roy," Alice said with a smile as she opened the door.

"Uncle Roy, guess what?" Elicia raced to the door with a big smile on her face.

Roy bent down to the little girl's level. "What, Elicia?"

"Aunty Alice taught me a chord!" She giggled with pride. "And I met Miss Liz and Mr. Benji. Mr. Benji plays really pretty and Miss Liz acts like Daddy." Roy smirked slightly. This was the most talkative he'd ever seen the little girl. She was always a bit stand-offish towards him.

"Miss Liz does act a lot like your dad, now that I think about it," Roy smirked at his private joke.

"Aunty Alice? Can we take Skakatoo on a walk?" the little girl asked.

Alice laughed lightly at the little girl's pronunciation. "I don't see why we can't take Staccato on a walk. Well, as long as it's okay with Uncle Roy, that is..."

The little girl picked up the kitten and looked pleadingly at the colonel. The kitten yawned before hissing. "Let's go then," he said as Elicia's face lit up with excitement. Soon enough, Alice had arranged the kitten in a little basket for Elicia to carry and they were out the door.

They walked around the market and into a small park. Elicia was situated in between Alice and Roy and held two of Roy's fingers in one tiny hand while Alice grasped onto the other. To unknowing passers-by, they looked like the perfect little family, except, of course, Elicia looked nothing like either of her "parents." The conversation was light as they walked until Elicia let go of the adults' hands and turned to face them.

"Aunty Alice? Uncle Roy? Why don't you act like my Mommy and Daddy do?"

"Well, sweetheart, Uncle Roy and I aren't married like your Mommy and Daddy are..." The little girl cocked her head to the side in confusion. Alice fumbled to try to explain to the little girl the situation. "Well, um, uh..."

"But Daddy said that Uncle Roy found a nice, pretty girl... And that's you, Aunty Alice!" Alice blushed slightly at the little girl's compliment.

"Thank you, sweetie, but uh..." Alice stood there, trying to figure out how to explain everything.

"Daddy was right, Elicia." Alice felt a warm hand cup the side of her face, and she blushed instantly when she saw that the hand belonged to Roy. Roy moved his face closer to hers and gave her a very tender kiss on the lips before glancing back at the little girl.

Elicia smiled widely at the display. "Wh-what?" Alice mumbled, beet red.

"I figured that it'd be quicker and easier than trying to explain. Besides, it seemed appropriate," Roy replied with a wink and a smirk, which Alice couldn't see because she had suddenly become extremely interested in a nearby light post.

"Roy!" Roy cringed instinctively, looking to the ground and suddenly mumbling profane things under his breath while Elicia's eyes lit up.

"Daddy! Daddy, Daddy, can I come play with Aunty Alice and Uncle Roy more often?"

Alice's eyes shot up toward where Elicia was directing her voice, making eye contact with another man in blue military uniform. "Roy, you and that girlfriend of yours look so cute with Elicia that you almost rival her, me, and Gracia!"

The man skidded to a stop, picking up his daughter and greeting her mushily before introducing himself. "Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. You must be the Alice Ackerman that Havoc speaks so fondly of. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I'm so happy you took care of my darling today!"

"Um, uh, nice to meet you, sir."

"She's perfect, Roy! See, Alice has all the qualities that I was talking to you about-"

"Hughes. Goddamnit, I can make my own decisions regarding that aspect of my life."

The man gave a light smack to the side of the colonel's head, saying, "Don't you dare say that when my daughter is in earshot!"

Alice chuckled lightly, noticing that the sun was beginning to go down on the horizon. "Gentlemen, I beg your pardon, but I must be going home now. Elicia, darling," Alice leaned in, keeping her voice low, as if she was sharing a secret with the child, "You can't tell anyone, but if you come over and visit me again, I'll give you lessons for free."

Elicia's eyes lit up, and she said, "R-really, Aunty?"

"Of course; but it's our secret, so don't go around telling everyone!" Elicia's eyes widened, and Alice pressed a finger to the girl's lips, whispering, "Shhh."

"Thank you for the privilege of watching your daughter. And Roy... try not to be quite so forward next time." The last sentence was said with a chuckle, but just thinking about the kiss he had given her made Alice tremble. Roy smirked kindly at the woman. Alice began to walk homeward with Staccato in her basket when she heard Hughes' voice behind her.

"Roy! You are awful! How could you let such a lovely young woman walk home alone at night? You are a terrible boyfriend!"

"Shut up, Hughes! No one asked you!" Roy fired back. Alice couldn't help but giggle at the two men arguing.

"It's a wonder that she's even keeping you if you act like that. Right, Elicia?" Hughes tickled his little girl and hoisted her up onto his shoulders. "And here I thought you were a gentleman."

Needless to say, Roy caught up to Alice. "You really don't have to walk me home if you don't want to, you know," Alice informed the man as he came up beside her.

"It's no trouble. Beside, Hughes is right. It's not safe for a woman like you to be out alone at night." Alice raised her eyebrow. "I'm in the military. I know what horrors are out there. And I can assure you that you wouldn't want to face them."

"And you're going to protect me from these 'horrors?'" Alice asked in a quiet, joking tone.

Roy straightened up a bit and gave his best smile. "That's the plan, Alice. That's the plan..."  
_  
"_That's sweet, Roy, but I think my horrors are the kind I have to get through myself."


	9. It Won't Be Long

**A/N:** Hey guys! Long time no see. Melissa like talk like caveman. It good way to avoid saying I. ...Anyway, we're sorry that we haven't updated in a while. We went to an anime con this past weekend and it was awesome! ^^ Lex cosplayed as Misa from Death Note and I was Yuuki from Vampire Knight. :D And we made some pretty awesome friends like John the vendor and the whole of our new group Team Star Card. We are star cards. Those are better than regular cards. Okay, I'm done talking about our epic weekend. We may continue this later. ;)

**Special thanks to our favorite people in the world, our reviewers:** Evalyd Yamazaki (Hi! We are discussing when Ed and Al will appear. It will probably be brief, but we agree that they must be in there. ^^), chocolvr (*shifty eyes* Maybe it's foreshadowing, maybe it's not. xD And we are glad that we are inspiring you! :D), Fire and Ice (We didn't update very soon, but still! There isn't any Elicia in this one, but there's some Charlotte and Brianna. xD We hope you enjoy them!), 4shadowedice4 (I'm glad that you like Alice. It seems that Ivy's the fan favorite. And thank you for commenting on our OCs. I was concerned that maybe we have too many, but you made me feel better. ^^), Charlie (Hi! We updated! No more torturing you! Yay! ^^ Read on, my friend, read on.)

**Disclaimer: **We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Though I totally saw Roy Mustang walking around in a Pocky box this past weekend and it made my life better. xD

* * *

A few days passed without consequence; Roy and Alice got together a few more times, growing closer by the day despite their various differences in personality. Ivy was bothersome as always, Jean dropped by once or twice (and Liz seemed to develop a total schoolgirl crush on him), and all her students came without fail. Benji asked her questions about Roy, but not the perverted kind that her nosy neighbor always did. The boy seemed genuinely concerned for their relationship, and Benji was quickly growing into a son for Alice.

A knock on the door late Saturday morning made Alice quickly rise to her feet; Roy was supposed to be coming over, but he hadn't specified a time. She rushed to the door, opening it without checking to see who was standing there -

And there stood Charlotte. Charlotte, and her little flock of children. Alice was ambushed by her niece, who immediately latched onto the woman's knees, staring up at the pianist and smiling widely.

"Surprise, Aunty Alice! Mommy said we were going to come meet your soon-to-be husband, but we had to keep it a secret!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Brianna? Charlotte, what have you been telling her?" Alice turned to her sister with her brow furrowed.

"Oh, nothing, Alice dear," Charlotte responded in a sing-song voice as she let herself inside. "But speaking of your fiancee... Where is he?"

Alice picked Luke up and carried him into the living room. "Roy is not my fiancee, Charlotte. And besides, what makes you think that he'll even come here today?"

"Oh, he'll be here..." the look on the older sister's face could almost be mistaken for an evil grin.

As if on cue, there was a sharp knock on the door. Brianna ran to the door and opened it before anyone else could react.

Roy stood on the doorstep in his usual, everyday finery, expecting to see Alice on the other side of the door. Naturally, he was confused when he was greeted by a little girl (who looked very much like Alice) hugging his knees and babbling about how Miss Ivy described him perfectly. The little girl let go of his legs before grabbing his hand and leading the man inside. "Um, Alice? Why is there a tiny, talkative version of you here?"

Alice stood up quickly and greeted him before he could enter the room. "I can explain! But not now! You need to leave as soon as possib-"

"You must be Colonel Roy Mustang! It's good to meet you at last! I'm Charlotte, Alice's elder sister. I've heard a lot about you from Ivy!" If Roy was at all astonished, he managed to hide it quite well.

"Really? All good things, I hope." Roy leaned down, coming closer to the child's level. "What's your name, huh?"

"I'm Brianna! Alice is my aunty, and Mommy told me you and Aunty were going to get married so you could be my future uncle!" Alice's face went straight past red into a shade of purple, and she scooped the child up in her arms.

"Bri, sweetheart, Roy and I are only f-friends. I don't know what your mother told you," Alice shot a loaded glare at her sister, "but I'm not getting married anytime soon... Now, um, why don't you go play with Staccato?" Brianna's eyes lit up; she had only just met Staccato, and was dying to play with Alice's kitten. Bri leapt from Alice's arms - an altogether good thing, as Alice wasn't sure she could hold up the girl much longer, despite her small size - and chased after the ball of fuzz.

"So... I finally get to meet my Alice's older sister, huh? A pleasure." Roy gave Charlotte a smile, and Alice sighed, thankful the older woman wasn't being terribly overbearing. Then it registered that he had said that she was _his_ Alice... the woman was stunned into silence. "I was looking forward to meeting you Mrs., uh..."

"Mrs. Lauden. But really, do call me Charlotte. Mrs. Lauden makes me feel horribly old."

"Charlotte then." Roy turned away to hang his hat up, and Charlotte looked to Alice with wide eyes, mouthing, 'Alice Ackerman, this man is _beautiful_.'

Alice gave her sister a look that could only translate as, 'Don't you _dare_ say _anything_.'

When Roy turned around again, he saw two sisters smiling at him, though one was a bit on the red side. "So, um, would anyone like a sandwich?" Alice asked nervously.

"A sandwich? That's it? Why don't I cook something up, Alice? I'm sure I could find something..." Alice's eyes grew wide as her sister moved into the kitchen.

"B-but...d-don't..." she stuttered in fear.

"Charlotte," the woman turned at the sound of her name, "I don't know if Alice told you, but the stove is broken. It's not safe to use." Roy's expression was completely serious and his voice had a slight hint of authority in it. It was as if he were talking to Riza.

Charlotte stared at the man before laughing. "That's what she told you? The stove's broken?"

"Of course. Is there something wrong with that?"

"The stove isn't broken, Alice is just afraid of," Charlotte stopped when she saw her little sister's horrified face. She never thought that Alice would keep her fear a secret from her boyfriend. "Alice is just afraid of...burning food! Yes, that's it. She's never been good at cooking, and she's always afraid of burning the food and wasting it! Silly, isn't it?" Charlotte laughed nervously. "So, how about those sandwiches, Alice?"

Alice's head was resting in her hands, her breathing steadying only after Charlotte backpedaled in such an absurdly obvious way. Roy raised an eyebrow, clearly sensing that the two sisters were hiding something. Charlotte disappeared into the kitchen, giving Alice a look filled with pity as she passed. With the older woman gone, Roy gave the younger sister a smile.

"Something wrong, my dear _fiancee?_" The colonel sat down beside the pianist, and Alice's blush deepened with his teasing. "And why on earth would you lie to me about something as stupid as a broken stove? It's not like I give a damn about how well you can cook."

"Charlotte's so utterly ridiculous... I tried to get you out of here while you still had a chance, Roy. I'm sorry for anything she says." Alice tensed up as she glanced into the kitchen and noticed that her dear sister was turning on the stove; she had entirely avoided Roy's question, and was sure it was obvious. Luke was utterly content just gurgling to himself on the floor, but Alice picked him up, setting him on her lap and pointing to her dark-haired friend. "Luke? Sweetheart? This is a friend of mine, Roy." The little boy reached a tiny hand up, pointing at the man. Roy smiled softly.

"Y'know, Alice, you and your sister look a lot alike. Brianna looks very much like you, too."

"I've heard that before. When we were young, we were often mistaken for identical twins, even though she's almost four years older. As for Brianna, she looks and acts exactly like her mother. It's almost scary..."

Roy chuckled, "You can definitely tell that they're related."

"It truly amazes me that Ivy still believes that Jean is my brother. We look and act nothing alike. At least Charlotte and I look similar..."

"Aunty Alice! Aunty Alice!" Brianna trotted up to the trio on the sofa. "Will you play that song for me? It's been so long since you've played it for me! I almost forget how it goes!" When Alice didn't respond right away, she turned to the colonel, "Uncle Roy, can you help me get Aunty Alice to play for me?"

"Brianna!" Alice scolded softly, "You can't call people aunts and uncles without permission."

Roy chuckled at the little girl's crestfallen expression and Alice's stern one. "Well, what do you say, Aunty Alice?" he began with a wink, "Will you play the song for your niece and her uncle?" She wasn't off the hook yet; Roy was just putting off figuring out Alice's reason for not using the stove. Alice, however, sighed before standing up and gliding towards the piano. The woman sat down at the bench, and prepared herself to play, hitting the first note only before Charlotte yelled from the kitchen that the food was done.

Brianna instantly forgot her song, wailing to her mother that she wanted food before anyone else. Charlotte, in response, served Roy the first plate of the delectable dish she had made.

Alice had pulled Luke up onto her hip once more, and the boy was giggling, playing with his aunt's hair. "Where's Brent, Charlotte? Why didn't he come?"

"Brent? Oh, he had to work. Believe me, he too wanted to meet the Roy Mustang we'd heard so much about from Ivy." Alice rolled her eyes, making a mental note to speak to Ivy about keeping her mouth shut about her neighbor's personal life.

Charlotte motioned to be given the baby, and after giving Luke to his mother Alice got herself and Brianna food.

"It's nice to finally put a face with the man Ivy's been talking so much about," Charlotte continued.

"I'm glad to hear that Ivy thinks so highly of me," Roy responded with a slight smirk as he took a bite of food

"Well, God knows that we can't get any details out of Alice over here. She keeps insisting that there isn't anything going on between you two, but I know better!"

"Charlotte!" Alice protested

"But I don't see why she's trying to hide such a gentleman from us. It's as if she's trying to keep you all to herself. Well, it's a good thing we stopped by today. I'm so glad to finally meet you. Just wait until Brent hears about you! He was starting to think that you were too good to be true and that Ivy was making you up. I'm so glad he's wrong. You are just a pleasant man and I'm so glad that my sister found you. And you two look just so darn cute together! I can hardly stand it!" Roy smiled politely and continued to eat.

"And you wonder why I didn't want to expose him to you," Alice mumbled under her breath.

Dinner wrapped up, and every second that passed made Alice wish she was taking care of Elicia more than making sure her sister didn't embarrass her. Roy finally made out as if to excuse himself to go home, and Alice stepped outside with him, floundering for an excuse to get away from Charlotte.

"_Keep it clean, kids!_" Charlotte's voice rang out from inside.

"I... am so sorry. Charlotte's a terribly awkward person-"

"No. I'm glad I got to meet her." Roy leaned down, giving the shorter woman a kiss on the cheek. "I'll probably see you tomorrow, my Alice." As if it was a signature trait, Roy tipped his hat before turning and leaving for the night; Alice raised a hand to the place where his lips had touched her skin, and turned pink when he called her "his Alice."


	10. Cry Baby Cry

**A/N: Hey you guysssss! It's an update! I'm like, high on life right now, mostly because I tackleglomphugraped Sir Jacob and I'm talking to Mr. Charles. It's a great day. :) Oh my God guys, I read Alice in the Country of Hearts, and it's fan-frigging-tastic. But the next chapter doesn't come out until December 15th... D: You guys should read it. It's amazing. And BLOOD DUPRE IS MY FAVORITE. That is all.**

**Our reviewers? They're practically star cards. That's because they're better than regular people. Thanks to - **_4shadowedice4 (your reviews always make our day. It's because well, you're awesome. :D), Evalyd Yamazaki (The "my Alice" thing was a condition we thought up at the very beginning, to stay away from the boyfriend/girlfriend bit. ;D), chocolvr69 (We love you. There's little more to say. We just... yeah. :D), Charlie (To be frank, Ivy's just dumb. I think ANYONE would know they weren't siblings, just from the way they act. xD), and Fire and Ice (Actually, we loan Alice out. If you'd like to have her, you'll have to check out our prices to see if they're within your range. ;)). _You guys? You're BAMFs. :D

Disclaimer: **We don't own Fullmetal Alchemist because... umm... if we did... then Lust would've lived. It's a lame disclaimer, but I'm tired. .**

* * *

Roy awoke to an ungodly loud knocking at his front door. His first instinct was to turn over and ignore the noise altogether. The person would eventually get tired (or break their hand which was probable considering how loud it was) and go away. Three minutes later, he fell out of bed and trudged to his front door. He opened it to find a certain blonde with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Hey, Colonel. You ready to go? You look awful when you first wake up..." It was true in a sense. Roy's clothes were wrinkly and he had massive bedhead. It was the worst Jean had ever seen the colonel.

"Goddamnit, Havoc! What is wrong with you? It's Sunday! I shouldn't have to see you on Sundays!" Roy yelled at his underling. It was times like these which made Roy want to kill the blonde. "And what do you mean 'am I ready to go?' Go where? What are you doing here anyway? Didn't I give you strict orders to never bother me at home unless there's a direct emergency?" Roy's voice was deep and snarling as he yelled. And Havoc, to be frank, he was a bit frightened.

"Come on, Colonel. We can't keep my darling little sister waiting," he said with an innocent smile.

"Havoc, Alice is not your sister. So quit telling everyone that she is."

Jean merely shrugged with a smile and eventually forced his commanding officer into the car. "I'm not doing this because you're forcing me to, Havoc. You're just lucky that I was heading that way anyway," Roy said defiantly from the back seat. He was still a mess, and the man ran a hand through his hair in a half-hearted attempt to tame his bedhead. Hopefully Alice wouldn't mind the fact that he had literally just rolled out of bed.

Jean stepped out of the vehicle, with Roy right behind. The blonde practically skipped up to Alice's door; had they not been 'siblings' Roy would have been sure that he was entirely infatuated with the pianist. With a rap on the entrance, the woman appeared, smiling widely and ushering them in. With the door shut, Jean gave her a hug, turning to his superior officer. "He's not giving you any trouble, is he, Sis?"

Alice's cheeks turned pink, and she shook her head violently. "N-none at all... and you know, you don't have to call me Sis when Ivy's not around."

Jean's face turned to an expression of teasing shock. "You might as well be a sister, my dear Alice." Roy was still half asleep, and Jean reached into his own pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Alice's eyes widened, and she snatched the thing from his hand, shoving it back from whence it came.

"You will not smoke in my house, Jean Havoc. That is my one stipulation to you being here. There will be none of that; I find it altogether unattractive." The last sentence was a lie, disguising her real reason.

Roy jumped at the random outburst of anger coming from the small woman. After his astonished face faded, Jean could only chuckle and turn to Roy. "Well, Colonel, it's a good thing that you don't smoke. Otherwise, my darling sister wouldn't look twice at you. I'm just lucky that I'm her brother. She has to love me, right Sis?"

Alice only rolled her eyes and smiled at the blonde. She couldn't stay mad at the man. He was really starting to become like a brother to her. "Hello, Roy. You look tired... You didn't have to come so early if you needed sleep..." Alice's face was concerned. The fact that the pianist was actually concerned for him brought a small smile to Roy's face.

"I'm fine, Alice. I'm just sorry that Havoc came along to inconvenience you."

"Colonel! I'm appalled that you would imply such a thing! I would never inconvenience my baby sister!" As if to illustrate this point, Havoc latched onto Alice, causing her to blush deeply.

"It wasn't an implication, Havoc, it's a fact. And get your grimy hands off my Alice," he stepped closer to the two and Jean immediately backed off. Though Jean was the bigger of the two, he wasn't about to pick a fight with the Flame Alchemist.

When Jean let go of Alice, he gave her a small push in Roy's direction. And so it happened that she lost her balance and started to fall. Alice immediately blushed when she saw whose arms she fell into. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"Don't you two look cozy!" Jean exclaimed with a wide smirk on his face.

"Havoc, if you cause any more trouble today, I will personally see that you are demoted! Fuery will be your boss once I'm done with you!"

Havoc shrugged, fairly certain that Roy's threat was empty. Alice immediately removed herself from Roy's arms, standing up with face bright red. "U-uh, Fuery?" Alice asked, floundering to make conversation, "Who's Fuery?"

"Kain Fuery, the lowest of my underlings. He'll be superior to Havoc in my staff once I'm done."

"Oh, come on, Chief, it's not like I did anything you didn't like." Silence ensued, and Alice turned to look at the piano briefly, shooing a fly away from a high F key before addressing the men.

"Would you like something to eat? I don't have much, but my house is your house..." Jean sent a suggestive eyebrow waggle Roy's way, and the colonel rolled his eyes.

Neither actually responded to the question, but Staccato tumbled into the room, mewing loudly. "Oh! I'm so sorry, sweetheart! I forgot to feed you this morning!"

Alice bustled her way into the kitchen, making up the kitten's food before having a seat on the piano bench, facing where the men were sitting on the couch.

"So... what brings you two here? Obviously Roy wasn't aware that he was coming..." The woman sent a bemused smile over towards her brother, thankful that Ivy hadn't noticed the two were here. Had she been aware of Roy and Jean's presence, Alice's neighbor definitely would have come barging in uninvited, just as she always did.

"I can't visit my little sister?" Jean smiled, and Alice shrugged, before speaking once more.

"How is it you've managed to keep Ivy interested, Havoc? You're dishearteningly boring..." Roy jabbed, getting back at the man for having pushed Alice earlier. Havoc rolled his eyes in response, mumbling something incoherent.

Time passed with little regard for itself; they talked, they laughed, they embarrassed Alice. The day went on quickly, or so it seemed.

After a while, Havoc stood up suddenly. "I really need a smoke. Say, Sis, do you mind if I smoke outside?"

Alice tensed up a bit but nodded and said, "Just make sure that you're not too close to the house and that you put it out completely. I don't want to smell it," she thought up a reason quickly.

"You really hate cigarettes, huh? Well, Colonel, why don't you join me?"

"You know very well that I don't smoke, Havoc," Roy wasn't saying this just to get on Alice's good side, it was perfectly true. He only smoked a cigar with Hughes once a year, if that.

"So?" Jean made a 'come on' expression with his eyes.

"If you want to talk to him, Jean, all you have to do is say so," Alice said with a giggle. "I'll go make us some sandwiches."

"She's smarter than what you give her credit for, Havoc," Roy said with a smirk as the two men went out into the empty street. The sun was almost set and there were streaks of orange in the western sky. "So what did you want?"

Havoc took a puff of his cigarette before answering. "I'm impressed, Colonel. It looks like you're winning the bet so far."

"Was there any doubt, Havoc?" Roy smirked slightly.

"I'm just surprised is all. I never thought that you'd get so close to her so quickly. It doesn't seem your style..."

"The stipulations of the bet made me abandon my usual style. I couldn't flaunt my title, I couldn't use my gloves, I couldn't do everything that I always do. And yet I'm still winning, Havoc."

Jean took another drag from his cigarette. "That you are, Colonel, that you are. Though, I'm surprised that you've kept it going on this long. Is there a reason you're drawing it out?"

Roy smiled slightly at a private thought before going into a smirk. "That's for me to know, Havoc, and me only."

"You're a real devil, Colonel..." The two men walked back into Alice's house after making sure the cigarette was out. They thought that their conversation had been private. Little did they know, Ivy had been lurking. And she now knew everything.

Alice gave Jean and Roy their sandwiches and they all ate happily. Though Roy was a bit uneasy due to Staccato seeming to stare into his soul. Soon though, it was time for the men to leave; Alice was getting sleepy. (They made her stay up past her usual Sunday 7:30 pm bedtime.)

Jean managed to hug Alice one more time before going out to start the car. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a day or two," Roy began.

"Yeah, I guess," Alice replied quietly with a light blush on her cheeks.

Alice didn't know what to do. Should she hug him? Should she just stand there? She didn't know. So she decided to do something before her courage failed her.

Alice took one step closer to Roy and went up on her tip toes before planting a small peck on the unsuspecting man's lips. She blushed bright red as she did this and mentally kicked herself for being so forward.

Roy just looked at the woman in shock before smiling softly and brushing his lips on her forehead. "Good night, my Alice," he said with a quiet smile on his lips.

They left, and Alice walked back into her house, a dazed look of happiness on her face. This, unfortunately, was cut all too short by a nosy neighbor who hadn't appeared for a few chapters rushing into her home.

The girl was teary-eyed, as if she had horrid news, and Alice quickly sat her down on the couch, asking what was wrong. Ivy opened her mouth to speak, and the blood drained from Alice's face far more quickly than she had before thought possible.

"I'm... so sorry, Alice."

"W-what, Ivy? What happened?"

"I... I heard Jean and Roy talking outside. I didn't catch the whole conversation, but... he's _using _you Alice! He's using you, just to win some goddamn bet! It seemed like he was trying to prove that he could stay with one girl for more than a week or so..." Alice's heart sank with every word, as if she could feel her heart breaking as Ivy spoke.

"I think... I think you need to leave, Ivy." For once, the younger woman didn't complain; she stood, giving Alice a long hug, before the pianist escorted her to the door.

Ivy left, and Alice slid down the wall, fell to her knees, and cried.


	11. I Don't Want To See You Again

**A/N:** Hey everyone! How are we doing today? So it's chapter 11 already and Lex seemed to have forgotten to make a big deal about chapter 10, so I'll do it for chapter 11... WOOT! GO CHAPTER 11! YEAH! YOU'RE AWESOME, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! *sniff* I would just like to thank everyone who helped us get this far... Okay, I'm done now. ^^ How was that for a big deal? Well, it's almost 2 in the morning, so I think I'll wrap this up now. But I just had a random thought. To everyone who lives in the United States, does your dad/just family in general have a friend that lives in Ohio? I don't know why I thought of this, but it seems that everyone's dad has a friend who lives in Ohio... Okay, Lissa needs to never talk again. ^^

**Special thanks to our reviewers. Without them, chapter 11 would not be possible: **Evalyd Yamazaki (I could tell you what happens and whether or not things get better, but I won't because I'm mean. ^^ And you like Borris [the cat] too? He's awesome! Though Blood [the hatter] was my favorite.), 4shadowedice4 (Yay! We updated quickly! And you should be proud of me because I wrote the fluff that time. ^^ I'm usually the fluff-killer.), chocolvr (I wouldn't sign in for us either, personally. ;) And also we were quite sad to have to do that to Alice, but it was necessary.), Charlie (Nooo! We love rambling! It amuses us! And we're glad you like Alice. And hey! We updated! :D), Fire and Ice (...Not gonna lie, that random outburst sorta made my day. ^^)

**Disclaimer:** We no own Fullmetal Alchemist. It no belong to we. We no own nothing. Lissa like talk caveman. ^^ Lissa need sleep or Lissa kill people with Lissa dumbs. God, I need a life... ;)

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Liz knew something was wrong the moment that she walked into Alice's door. After letting the girl in, the pianist had gone back to her couch, eyes rimmed with red and torso shaking. Liz's jaw practically dropped to the floor; she had never seen her teacher in such a state as this.

"Uh... Miss A...?" The moment Liz opened her mouth and spoke, a sob racked Alice's body. With a quick glance around, the student placed herself next to Alice, and said, "Miss Ackerman?"

At the sound of her full last name, Alice latched on to her student in a tight hug for a good ten seconds before standing up and moving to the piano silently.

"You know, Miss A... We don't have to practice today if you aren't feeling well..." Tears welled up in Alice's eyes again, but the quiet pianist shook her head.

"No, Liz. You need to practice. Besides... it'll g-get my mind off t-things." Liz didn't move; she simply cocked an eyebrow, and beckoned back to the couch.

"What happened, Miss A? A fight with somebody? Are you and Ivy not getting along?"

"D-don't worry about it, Liz... Your lesson's canceled for today, I think." Liz left, and Alice cried. She'd been falling for that _bastard, _and falling hard; Roy Mustang had only been using her from the very beginning. But it was just so hard to wrap her mind around... everything Charlotte and Ivy had said had wormed its way into her head, and she had started to think that they were more than friends. Roy had called her _his_ Alice... _His_, and no one else's...

A knock came on the door, and Alice stood; she was certain it was Benji, and she composed herself before he came in. Liz was one thing, but Alice definitely didn't want Benji to see her in such a state.

She opened the door and tried her best to smile. As soon as the boy glanced at his teacher, his face screwed up with concern. "What's wrong, Miss A?"

"N-Nothing, Benji," Alice tried so very hard not to burst into tears. He stepped forward and gave the piano teacher a warm embrace. Alice was shocked. Benji had never once hugged her before. But at the feeling of the tall boy's arms around her, there was nothing left to hold back her emotions.

She sobbed. "It's all right, Miss A. Everything will be okay," he said soothingly. He eventually led the woman to the couch and sat her down. He seated himself across from her on the piano bench. "Now what happened?" The boy's cedar-colored eyes bore into Alice's with an intensity that Alice had never before seen.

"I-It's nothing. Y-your lesson is canceled today."

"Miss A," Benji's commanding tone reminded her of how Roy spoke to Jean and she sobbed again. "Miss A, I need you to tell me what's wrong. I may not be able to fix what happened with my father, but I'll be damned if both you and my mother are crying without me being able to do anything." The boy's eyes practically screamed with intensity.

Alice couldn't stop herself. Benji wasn't one that she could keep secrets from. The boy was just too perceptive when it came to human emotions. It all came tumbling out. Alice blubbered in not very coherent sentences. "Roy... He, he...A bet. And he, he..." she sobbed, "He didn't care...And-and Ivy heard... and he called me 'his'. I-I thought he c-cared..." She put her head in her hands and let the tears pour down.

Benji, having many similar conversations with his mother over the years understood more or less.

"Well, then he's a bastard - er, pardon my language - for doing that to you... if that's really what happened. But when I met him he didn't seem like the type. He looked like he really _did _care..." Benji was doing all he could to keep fierce anger under wraps, but female emotions had this way of pulling a protective man out from inside him.

Alice smiled sadly, not actually saying anything regarding what Benji had said. "Thanks for the hug, Benji. I needed it... I'm probably the worst teacher ever; this is so unprofessional-"

Benji gave her a light smirk. Alice was still crying, but at the very least her sobs had stopped. The look in her eyes had grown stronger, although she still looked utterly heartbroken. She didn't know how long they sat there, but Benji assured her he had nowhere to be. Therefore, he sat on the couch while she softly played the piano to vent stress.

_Oh, this probably looks so inappropriate... He's a student; he shouldn't be here at this hour - _

Alice's thoughts were cut short, however, by another knock on the door. In one robotic motion, Alice rose from where she was sitting, and answered it.

This action revealed Roy Mustang, in full military attire.

"Hey, Ali-"

His greeting was received with a slam of the door, but not before she had given him a long, cold look with tears in her eyes. Roy stood with a look of utter confusion on the pianist's doorstep. This had never happened to him before. It was a new feeling; rejection that is. He knocked yet again, thinking that maybe he had imagined what had happened only moments before.

This time, Benji opened the door. "Hello, Colonel," he said curtly.

"Hello, Benji. What's wrong with Alice? Is everything alright? Can I come in?" Roy's voice got more commanding with each question. He wanted to know why his Alice just slammed a door in his face.

"Miss A wants me to tell you, um," he mulled over how she had worded it only moments before, "Oh yeah. She says, 'I never want to see or speak to that damn colonel after what he did.' And no, she's not alright. And no, you may not come in. I think it's best that you leave, Mr. Mustang. I should probably get going too. My mother worries if I'm not home for supper." With that, he closed the door and bid farewell to Alice before opening the door again to leave.

Roy just stared at the door in confusion. "What's going on?"

"One would think that you'd know," Benji replied as he began to walk towards home.

"Yeah, but I don't. So do you mind filling me in?"

Benji sighed and turned back towards the military man. For some reason, he wanted to help him. He wanted Alice to smile again, like how his mother used to smile back before the war. "She knows, Colonel."

"Knows? About what?"

"About the bet. And it's unlikely that she'll be taking you back anytime soon, if at all."

Roy's eyes widened, and Benji walked off unperturbed, though very concerned for Alice. In truth, he'd never heard the woman use any profanity; Alice calling him "that damn colonel" had had an odd impact.

"_Shit!_" A violent string of curses flew from Roy's lips, and he assaulted a nearby rock with his foot. He gave a quick look back to Alice's door, imagining the woman within. Despite his nature, Roy hadn't meant to hurt her...

Roy walked away, though. He didn't try to go back and face her, and in doing so, he thought, he proved once again how much a coward he was. Any man would go back and try to set her straight, but Roy Mustang couldn't make himself do it.

Roy went home.

Alice picked up Staccato and slowly trudged to her bed. It was only five o' clock, but at least there she could think in peace. The woman locked the door, checked the lightbulbs, and crawled underneath her covers, orange kitten in hand. As if sensing her raging sadness, the feline mewed loudly, licking the pianist's face in an attempt to comfort her.

Softly petting the cat, Alice stared blankly at her ceiling. Deep in her heart of hearts, she truly wanted to believe it wasn't a bet. She wanted to think that Ivy was an idiot, and had heard things wrong... her rationale, however, pointed otherwise.

He never should have wanted her anyway. Alice was average, quiet, socially awkward; he was charismatic, a military man, and one of the most eloquent people she had ever met. It only made sense that he would be seen with her because of a bet...

Roy went to bed that night grumbling to himself and awoke the next day doing the same. He wasn't sure why he was so upset. He knew that things would eventually end. So why was he so bothered about it ending like this? If anything, it would cause less heartache... Roy cursed. It wouldn't. He had already caused her to cry, that much was apparent from the day before. And Roy wasn't one who could stand the sight of a woman's tears. Roy trudged off to work, even more upset than before.

Alice called all her students when she woke up. She still wasn't feeling up to teaching. She had spent a good portion of the morning crying and playing sad songs on her piano. Staccato wasn't liking the woman's recent attitude and made this perfectly clear to her by refusing to do anything but stare at the woman. Alice looked at the little orange kitten. "Oh, Staccato," she sighed with tears in her eyes, "You were the only good thing that came of me meeting that damn colonel."

Roy seemed especially moody that day, his team noticed. And Roy, being typical Roy, took it out on the underlings. Fuery was given a time limit on his paperwork, Breda's chess board was taken away and was replaced by an alchemy book. Falman was forced to research the most ridiculous things and Roy briefly yelled at Riza. As for Havoc, he was instructed to report to Roy immediately.

"Hey, Colonel. What's up?" Jean asked casually as he walked into the office.

"What's up, Havoc? You want to know what's up? I'll tell you what's up, Havoc..." Roy mumbled angrily to himself.

Havoc blinked twice before shaking his head. "You know, Chief, Fuery's drowning in the paperwork you've given him. You might want to pawn off some of the work to Falman or Breda..."

"She knows, goddamnit." The office got quiet suddenly at the words coming from their superior officer. Havoc's eyes widened.

"About...?"

"Yeah. Why the hell did everyone stop working?" Falman, Breda, and Fuery struggled to look productive, and Havoc sighed.

"She was going to find out sometime, Colonel... And hell, you won. I don't see why you're so upset."

Roy sighed, looking away angrily. He could hardly admit to Havoc that he was worried about her; his pride wouldn't let him.

Havoc spoke again when his superior remained silent. "I'll admit it, though. I've grown fond of her too."

Roy looked up, the fire in his eyes dying down a bit. "Fuery!" Roy yelled across the room to the underling.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Give that pile to Havoc. You're going to learn chess today."

Fuery looked up in confusion, but didn't complain. "Yes, sir!"

"Havoc, you have until lunch to finish that. Think of it as payback."

"Payback? For what?"

Roy only turned away to retrieve Breda's chess set, leaving Havoc's question unanswered.

But when he was sure that no one could hear him, Roy mumbled quietly, "Payback for making me fall hard for that girl. For that, you should burn in hell."


	12. Carry That Weight

**A/N:** Allo! My name is Roshneish. I was instructed to introcuce this here chapter! ^^ I like would like to say hello to all of fanfiction. net! Did I mention that my name is Roshneish? ^^ Hey guys, that was my newly-discovered Indian alter-ego. I told her to introduce the chapter. Yes. So, um, it's chapter 12 and this isn't our favorite, but it needed to happen.

Hey guys! It's Lex! Howzitgoin? Anyway, today, we found two theme songs for Alice and Roy - "**Misery**" by Maroon 5, and "**Love the Way You Lie**" by Eminem and Rihanna. I don't even like Eminem. . Also, if anyone actually knows how Rashnish/Roshneish, let us know...

OH HAY thanks to - _Evalyd Yamazaki (Benji's actually totally awesome. He transmogrifacated into something far awesomer than we intended.), chocolvr69 (I KNOWWWWW. D: We use thespectrum, which is luckily still up...), Charlie (Benji seems to be a popular OC; we actually have plans for him later, so he'll be hanging around, being awesome. :D), and 4shadowedice4 (Alice gets a hug in this chapter, just to appease you! And Melissa says she's glad you like her fluff!). _You guys? You're BAMFs.

Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, I'd take the military on a field trip to a farm. And Al would try to fit various animals inside his armor to take home. ^^ Two of which would be my cute little goats, Atticus and Harvey. ^^ *insert Hughes pose here* THEY ARE SO PRECIOUS!

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"So can I move the horsey here?" Fuery asked his superior tentatively.

Roy sighed. "No, Fuery. You can _not_ move it there. Knights can only move in an 'L' pattern! And quit calling them horseys!"

Fuery cowered at Roy's outburst. "S-sorry sir."

Roy put his head in his hands as Fuery put himself in Check. "I win because of your stupidity. Alright everyone, go to lunch." When some of his teammates pulled out bagged lunches he said, "Leave. Go outside. Go home. Hell, I don't give a damn where you go, just leave!" They didn't need to be asked twice. "Havoc. What makes you think that you're exempt from that order?"

"You told me to finish this paperwork, Colonel," Jean answered coolly. After seeing the murderous look in Roy's eyes, Jean decided that it was time for him to leave.

Alice cried a little less that day. She tried to go back to the way things were before she met Roy. But, she wasn't feeling up to teaching, so she had to settle for playing piano and petting Staccato all day. She had to admit that it was pretty dull. When she heard a knock on her door, her heart leaped. There was still a part of her that wanted Roy to come see her.

She opened the door slowly, revealing one Jean Havoc in full military attire. She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes. "Wh-What do you want, Mr. Havoc?" Her voice cracked mid-sentence.

"Ouch, Sis. Mr. Havoc?" The man gave her a smirk that belied how worried he was for the woman. Alice shook her head once, shooing the water from her eyes. "Can I come in, Alice?"

Alice stepped aside slowly, swinging the door open, unable to refuse him entry. At the very least, she would give Roy the silent treatment; she didn't know if she could do the same to her "brother".

Staccato, ever the opportunist, took that moment to rub up on Jean's legs; the blonde smiled, picking the feline up. "It seems he likes anyone who isn't a certain colonel." Alice's eyes clouded over, and the air grew even more tense. That was, frankly, the last thing the pianist wanted to talk about, although it was clearly the lieutenant's whole purpose for visiting.

Jean eased himself onto the couch, and Alice sat quietly on the piano bench, as far across the room from Jean as she could get. "To be fair, if you're mad at anyone, you should be pissed at me."

She looked up at him, clearly confused. He continued, "Remember the night that we met you and Ivy?" Alice nodded. How could she forget? "See, the Colonel and I had been bar-hopping. That's sort of our pastime. We try to seduce women, almost making a contest out of it. This may be a surprise to you, Alice, but Roy usually beats your good ol' bro in those bets…"

"Is this supposed to make me feel better, Jean?" Alice sniffed, glaring at the man.

"Heh, I suppose not. What I'm getting at is that us betting over women is nothing new. However, what _is_ new is how the Colonel reacted this time…" Jean continued, "Alice, on the night that we met, Roy had been flirting with several women. And they weren't just any women. These girls were drop-dead, kill you with one look your way, gorgeous. And Colonel Roy Mustang had every last one of them wrapped around his little finger. But we left the bar alone that night and we met up with you and Ivy. The way he was looking at you, I figured that you'd end up being just one of those girls. Mustang's the love 'em and leave 'em type."

Alice looked to the side with a snarky grumble. "Yeah, believe me, I can imagine…"

Jean rolled his eyes once. "Can you just hear me out? I understand that you're mad, but –"

"Of _course_ I'm mad, you idiot!" Alice had risen to her feet, small stature not diminishing the anger that was radiating off of her. "He tricked me! I fell for him, and I fell _hard!_ Ivy and Charlotte finally got to me, and I thought maybe, just maybe he liked me back, okay? I understand that, as a male, you might not be able to understand quite how that happened, but I would have done anything he asked! And then all of a sudden, I found out that he had a bet with _you_. A _bet_. That that was the reason why he ever so much as talked to me. And even better yet, _you _knew about it Jean! I had actually tricked myself into thinking you were a friend or something. Silly me."

With that, Alice collapsed back onto the piano bench, and Staccato, apparently concerned, jumped from Jean's arms to console his owner.

"I'm still a friend, Alice." Jean's words were said quietly, as the female had started crying again. "I'm probably a terrible friend, but I'm still a friend."

When Alice didn't respond, Jean spoke again. "He was really pissed today for some reason, the colonel, I mean. He took it out on all of us; it's obvious whenever Mustang's worked up about something, because we underlings drown in his rage."

Alice snorted, "Well, you deserve it at least…"

Havoc leaned forward in his chair, his face serious. "Alice. I don't need you yelling at me. I'm getting enough of that from your ex-boyfriend. Now if you aren't going to listen to everything I say, at least listen to me for one more minute. To make it short, even though it would be so easy to be with those girls from the bar, he chose you. Even though he could've picked any girl in Central, he chose you."

"Do you think he may have picked me just because I'm so gullible and weak?" she asked bitterly.

"I don't know, Alice." Jean stood and stretched. "But the important thing is that he chose _you_." He moved to the door and opened it. "Roy Mustang is a lot of things, Alice. But he's not a total jackass."

Alice's eyes softened slightly; still hurt? Yes. Feeling slightly guilty? Also yes. "S-sorry, Jean…" She couldn't help it. No matter her resolve, she couldn't stay mad at Jean. As if sensing the shift in tension, Jean smirked, standing up and looking at the clock briefly. He had already gone fifteen minutes past the allotted time for lunch…

"Well, Sis? Can I have a hug before I go back to work?"Alice hesitated slightly before standing up and gripping the lieutenant tightly. Jean chuckled slightly before hugging the woman, then stepping back. With a wave, Jean Havoc walked out the door, happy to have begun the 'patching up' process.

Alice sank down on the piano bench, and played a happier piece than she had all day.

The lieutenant re-entered the office, where most of his colleagues were hard at work; i.e. Hawkeye was doing paperwork, and everyone else was pretending to appear productive.

"Havoc!" Roy yelled as Jean attempted to sneak in unnoticed. "Is there a reason you're late?" he asked impatiently. Apparently lunch break hadn't lightened the colonel's mood.

"There is a reason, Colonel," Havoc replied with a smirk.

"Well?" when Jean didn't respond, he yelled with authority, "We're waiting for an answer, Havoc."

"Sorry sir, I can't say." Jean figured that the colonel wouldn't want everyone to know about his girl issues. And plus, Jean enjoyed pissing off his superior officer.

"Havoc, if you don't tell me what the hell you were doing, I will burn off your flesh inch by inch until you are screaming in agony."

"Jeez, Colonel…Sadistic much? Anyway, I was off patching things up with your girlfriend." Roy's eyes flickered slightly with hope before returning to their normal stern gaze. "You're welcome, sir."

Roy didn't say anything. He just sat down at his desk and put his chin in his hands. So Havoc actually went out of his way to help someone? Roy wasn't sure of how he felt about seeing Havoc in this newly-discovered light. He decided that Havoc was still Havoc; and therefore he was still annoying as hell.

A never-before-seen look of confusion flashed through the three lowest subordinates; _the _Flame Alchemist, having trouble with women?

It seemed that Fuery, Falman, and Breda's eyes had wandered to the black-haired man, and with a stern bark, all three got back to work. The anger, however, had faded from his face; and Fuery, to his great joy, didn't have to pretend to care about chess anymore.

Roy Mustang went home after work, but didn't stop by the pianist's house, despite how much he sincerely wanted to. It was still too soon, he figured; and, to be frank, he could hardly blame Alice for being altogether upset with him. The load on his chest had lightened, though, and thanks to Havoc, he knew things were still fixable.

Alice Ackerman still cried that night. Things weren't okay yet; she had confidence that, with the right kind of effort, though, they could be.

Roy went to sleep thinking of her. If the bet had never existed he wouldn't be in this mess. But the real question was: Would he still have gone after her if not for the bet? Roy turned over in his bed and decided that it didn't matter anymore how they came together and fell apart. All he knew was, if something went wrong, he could always blame it on Havoc. Because, to be frank, it was always easiest to blame Havoc.


	13. All Things Must Pass

**A/N:** Good morning everyone. It's like 1:08 am right here, right now and we're about to publish chapter 13 of this here story. Can you tell that I'm tired by my lack of enthusiasm? But to be fair, I was running around with my three year old cousin, Nia, for a good three hours. As it turns out, really shy kids love me. Babies hate me. But shy three year olds and six year olds love me. So yeah. I'm tired. I'm so glad that I'm not a parent... Kids are cute and all, but they can be WAY too energetic... Okay, so I should probably talk about the story now, huh? Well, this is chapter 13. If you like it, don't like it, hate it, love it, you should um, I dunno, tell us? Yeah, that seems like a good idea. You should tell us if you like this story. Via review. Or message. Or however else you want to tell us. Shout it from the rooftops if you'd like. But a review would probably be easiest. ;)

**Special thanks to our favorite (only) reviewers: **chocolvr (You'll find out about the stove soon enough. Be patient, young grasshopper. ;)), Shadow (Well, it wasn't as quick, but I think you'll like this chapter for certain qualities that I wish not to spoil. ^^), Charlie (How could anyone forget about my darling Benji? ;) He's the minor OC that I'm most proud of. He's not exactly in this chapter, but still. :) And who knows if it'll be a happy ending? Bwahahaha...), Evalyd Yamazaki (We haven't put too much thought into that quite yet. But we'll get to it. :))

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm just trying to hurry up and publish this because I just discovered a scary looking worm less than a foot away from me. *shriek*

* * *

Wednesday was library day. Seeing as how Roy hadn't shown up recently, Alice figured that she may as well get back in the swing of things as she used to do; that meant, as it was Wednesday, she would go and pick up new books and sheet music. Staccato loudly protested at being left home, but Alice couldn't bring him into the library; there was a strictly no pets policy there that was impossible to get around, no matter how much the librarian liked the pianist.

At a pace that was slower than her usual, Alice stepped out the door, locking her feline inside despite him mewing obnoxiously. The woman took a step towards Ivy's door, thinking of inviting her before deciding that it was better to go alone and perhaps collect her thoughts.

With every step, Alice's mind and tossed and turned; she really _wanted _to believe Havoc, but with what Ivy said about the bet, it was hard to think he had done anything but use her.

And goddamnit, why did he have to be so damn persuasive? All it would take was one heartfelt apology to make her come running back, and she very well knew it.

Alice went about her day. She taught piano lessons, played with Staccato, and made sandwiches. Because, well, that's what Alice always did on Wednesdays...

There was a knock on Alice's door around eight o'clock. She opened it slowly to find Roy Mustang with a sheepish smile on his face holding a small bouquet of flowers. Alice just stared at the man, not knowing if she should slam the door or not.

"Alice? Can I come in?" It was obvious that the colonel was a bit tipsy. But he wasn't nearly as drunk as Ivy was upon their first meeting.

Alice sighed and stepped aside from the door. "Come in, Roy."

"Thanks." He hung up his coat and handed Alice the flowers. "These are for you."

"Thank you. But Roy, are you drunk by any chance?"

"I swear to Drunk; I'm not god," he said with a wink and an amused smirk. Alice only sighed and motioned for him to sit on the couch. She sat on the piano bench, not wanting to be close to the man quite yet. "I'm here to apologize, Alice. I was an ass for not telling you about the bet. But everything was real, I swear." Roy's eyes lolled around the room as the alcohol coursed through his veins. "The truth is, I'm a bit of a coward. Hell, I had to get my courage to even come here from a bottle of booze."

With a sigh, Alice stood up quickly before taking a step closer to the man. Even in that state, all she wanted to do was forgive him; but she couldn't. She couldn't let herself do that, not after everything that she'd heard.

"How drunk are you?"

"Not that drunk, really. I only had a drink or two. I hold my liquor better than some."

"Hold on a second. Don't do anything stupid." Alice retreated into her kitchen, making the man a sandwich to go with the alcohol she was sure was eating away at his stomach.

In the meantime, Staccato had waddled into the living room to come upon a buzzed Colonel Roy Mustang. Upon sighting him, the kitten fluffed up into a mass of fur twice his normal size, spitting at the man that was on his beloved Alice's couch. Leaning forward with a sigh, the man confronted the ball of fuzz. "Okay, look. I understand that you don't like me very much. But, for God's sake, pretend to like me. I need all the help I can get right now. I screwed up in a terrible way, and I need Alice to forgive me, otherwise, I'm not going to be able to sleep ever again. I was a jerk, and I have accepted that. Just, please, dear God, cat. I need all the help I can get."

Alice, of course, had finished the sandwich halfway through Roy's 'conversation' with Staccato, and had been eavesdropping the whole time; she was torn between hysterical giggles because he had been talking to her cat, and tears, because he'd seemed so utterly sincere.

"And I promise you, cat, that if Alice actually takes me back, I'll take care of her. You won't have to worry about her again. I'll protect her, I swear." At this, Staccato went back to his normal size and looked at Roy curiously before cautiously sniffing the man's boot. Once he was satisfied that it was indeed safe, the kitten jumped right into Roy's lap and began purring madly. The colonel looked surprised at first before a quiet smile crossed his lips. "So now you like me, huh? Well, I guess I wasn't too nice to you before I brought you here. But to be fair, I was upset that that pipsqueak and his tin can of a brother pawned you off on me..."

Alice chose to walk in at that particular moment. She handed Roy his sandwich and sat down again. "Thanks, Alice. But I didn't come here to get a sandwich."

"I know why you came, Roy. Though I don't know why I let you in. I guess a part of me wants to forget that you ever hurt me and take you back. But the other part wants me to throw you out of my house and never think about you again." Roy nodded with a grimace. "You hurt me, Roy. You damaged a part of me that I thought was untouchable. You were the closest thing to an actual romantic companion I've had in a very long time. And you ruined it. I know that the only reason you ever spoke to me again was because of that damn bet. I know that, but I still can't really force myself believe it. I thought we had something, Roy. No, we _did_ have something. Before you ruined it." By this time, angry tears had made their way to Alice's eyes and were flooding down her cheeks.

Roy sighed; buzzed or not, he still wasn't a big fan of women crying. He had noticed that, in general, when the quiet ones had the emotional dam break, it was the most dangerous; they had all that pent up feeling inside that they didn't ever talk about. Had he not come over for the sole purpose of making up (and had it not been Alice), he probably would have got up and left right that minute.

"...This would be so much easier if you just called me an ass and were done with it." Roy's voice was exhausted, as if just watching her eyes fill with tears made him tired.

"Sure, next time I'll think of your feelings on the matter..." Alice retorted, sarcasm getting the better of her due to the emotional roller-coaster she was on. The military man smirked gently.

"You know, it's about time you stood up for something, Alice. I had hoped you would, but I never imagined that it would be because of something I did." With a sigh, he stood up, getting closer to the smaller woman. Their proximity was a ploy on his part; she had said that she wanted to forgive him. Why not use it to his advantage?

"This isn't fair, Roy." She placed a hand on his chest, pushing the man back slightly, surprising him. "Why don't you just leave me be, since all you wanted me for was a bet?"

Roy smirked once more before taking a step back as it seemed she wished him to. "I told you, Alice. You're the best distraction I've had in a very, very long time. And if I didn't like having you around, then Havoc would have flat-out told you. He's a lot of things, but he isn't a liar."

Alice sniffed. "Funny, he said nearly the same about you. Except he said that you weren't a total jackass. That seems like a lie to me."

Roy couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm glad you're finally letting your true feelings about me out."

"Those aren't my true feelings, you idiot. I really liked you, Roy. And you ruined it. Just like how Willa ruins the joy of music every Friday at two. You both ruin things, very good things, in the most painful way possible. Except she only forgets that the F is sharp. But you, you missed the coda, added a B flat, and your piano was out of tune."

Roy looked at Alice and took a half a step towards her without thinking. "I'm going to have to admit that I don't know what any of that means. I understand that I hurt you though. I don't know how or if I can fix it. But if you would let me at least give it a shot, I promise that you won't regret it." His dark eyes bored into hers with sincerity.

Alice looked towards the floor in thought. Staccato had caught her attention. The kitten stared intently at his owner with eye full of innocence and let out a quiet mew before glancing at Roy and back. Alice took this as a sign, seeing how the kitten only moments before had despised the man.

She sighed and looked up at Roy. "Eat. It will help you sober up," she said quietly.

"Why do I need to sober up, exactly?" Roy challenged with a wink.

Alice blushed slightly before saying almost inaudibly, "Because I don't want people to think that my boyfriend's a drunk."

"Ah, my Alice..." Roy stretched once, taking a step forward again and leaning down so his nose nearly touched her forehead. "Your neighbor is Ivy. I'm the last thing on anyone's mind." He kissed the woman's forehead gently, and watched as her face was engulfed in red.

In response, she told him once more to eat; he gladly complied. "It seems Staccato doesn't mind me so much anymore." The feline purred in response, sealing his point.

Alice smiled lightly. "Yeah. I guess he doesn't."

"Damn good thing, too, because I'm pretty sure he was what made you let me off the hook."

With a laugh, and a tone that was only half-joking, Alice said, "Yeah. You're pretty lucky."


	14. Any Time At All

**A/N: Okay, um... hooray! It's chapter fourteen! -halfheartedly blows party... blower thing- This'll be a bigger deal next chapter, because next chapter will make FIFTEEN. And that's, like, a milestone. Oh hey guys, I know we've plugged this before, but you should probably go read Alice in the Country of Hearts. And I mean, you should buy it? Why? Because Frigid Fire wants that damn video game in English, and it won't happen unless sales are high. . **I would just like to take the time to say that the "party blower thing" is typically called a noisemaker or something to that effect. And I would also like to say that I'm sort of feeling the direct need to eat some Honey Bunches of Oats right now... It's sort of my ritualistic one-in-the-morning snack. Yeah. I really don't have much of anything left to say... :D

**Special thanks to our super-fantastical-BAMFy-kickass-spectacular-awesome-and-any-other-adjectives-I-missed-reviewers: **Shadow (We're glad you liked it! And we really don't have any specifics for when Ed and Al will show up. They'll just do whatever it is that they do until we figure it out.), chocolvr (We're thinking of doing a oneshot or miniseries featuring Benji as the main character. ^^ We won't tell you the pairing yet though. Why? Because we're evil. :]), Charlie (Charlie, honey, we aren't going to quit just like that. I thought you knew us better than that. ;) We assure you that there's still a shitload of stuff yet to come. And yes, you do need to find a higher rooftop. :P), Fire and Ice (WE MISSED YOU! Yes. And also, we accept your challenge! It may not happen immediately, but it's now on our list of things to do. We're actually thinking of doing an FMA crack booklet for everyone's enjoyment. ^^)

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. We do own Brent though. He's sort of our bitch. ;)

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"There's a call for you, Sir," Riza Hawkeye put her hand over the bottom of the phone, waiting for her superior officer to reply._

_ "Who is it?"_

_ "I'm not sure, Sir. It's some woman blubbering about her little sister's well-being and is asking for you." _

_ Roy's eyes widened slightly as he took the phone from the lieutenant. "Charlotte! What's wrong? What happened to my Alice?" At the sound of the colonel claiming any female as exclusively his, the underlings exchanged a look. The look translated to: Holy shit! What's going on! Eavesdropping? I think yes._

_ "…Oh. Why didn't you just say so?" Roy was visibly relieved, causing raised eyebrows from the underlings. _

_ There was a pause before the colonel smirked slightly and replied, "You do have a good point there. So what time? Uh-huh. Yeah, sounds great. See you then." And with that, he hung up the phone and turned towards his team. "What the hell are you all sitting around for? Get to work."_

_ "Y-Yes sir!" they all said in unison, but they all exchanged another look. Havoc only gave them a smug smile when they glanced at him. 'I know something you don't know~!' _

_ "Hey, Colonel."_

_ "What is it, Havoc?"_

_ "I wasn't aware that you were in such close contact with my other sister. How's that working out for you, by the way?" Havoc smirked and took a drag from his cigarette._

_ Roy smirked, though he was a tad bit irritated by the question. "Not that it's any business of yours, Havoc, it seems to be working out just fine." _

It was Thursday. Due to the fact that it was Thursday, Alice was preparing to set

off across the city to Charlotte's house. The journey wasn't nearly as perilous as the end result was; that end result being, of course, that she had to see her sister.

Alice hadn't decided yet if she was going to tell Charlotte of what had transpired between herself and Roy. There would be a freak-out if she _did_ tell Charlotte, but the consequences would be _horrid_ if Alice didn't tell her and her sister found out anyway. It was a lose-lose situation, but the former seemed the best plan of action to take.

Today, though, Alice didn't even get a chance to knock on the door before Brianna came barreling out the door, latching onto the woman's knees for dear life. "Aunty! Aunty! We missed you! Why didn't you bring Uncle?"

Detaching the girl from her legs, Alice knelt down to Brianna's level. "Uncle was working today, sweetheart. He couldn't come." Brianna pouted before running back inside to play a game with her dolls. Alice smiled fondly after the girl before stepping into the house herself and being greeted with a genuine smile from her older sister. The normalcy that was floating through the house caught Alice off guard, and immediately she was on the defensive.

"Hi there, Charlotte. You're awfully… subdued, today."

"Dearest sister, if you came around more often, you'd see that I'm normally like this."

"LIES!" Alice heard exclaimed from the kitchen, and Charlotte rolled her eyes in a sardonically fond way, responding to her husband's outburst. Alice crossed her arms as if to make a point.

"Alice, he's a man. Men don't know anything." Charlotte winked before beckoning the younger girl further inside. "Do you want anything to drink?"

The pianist shook her head in response, and with that the elder sister plopped down on the couch, Alice picking up Luke, who was flailing slightly on the floor, before doing the same. The toddler gurgled, grabbing at Alice's nose, and the woman giggled before mimicking him.

"How on earth did you get such lovely kids, Charlotte?"

"It was partially luck, and it was partially that my husband is moderately attractive." Luke laughed as if to accentuate his mother's words, and Charlotte spoke again, "You and that Colonel, though? You two would make some beautiful children."

Alice turned bright-red; the situation was made even more awkward by the fact that the very pregnant woman was entirely serious. "So, um, uh… What's for supper, Charlotte?" Alice quickly changed the subject.

"Does it matter? You usually like to be surprised. Are you going to try to help me for once? Or are you still too afraid?"

"Um…I suppose it doesn't really matter." Charlotte smirked and stood up to begin meal preparations.

An hour passed without incident. Alice played dolls with Brianna and chased Luke around the house as he toddled about. Brent and Charlotte fussed about in the kitchen. But soon, there was a knock on the door. "Alice, would you be a dear and get that for me?" Charlotte called from the kitchen. Alice, thinking nothing of her sister's abnormally sing-songy voice, stood up and went to the door.

"Why, hello, my dear Alice," Roy smirked at the woman's surprised face. "May I come in?"

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Charlotte invited me, of course. And I'll admit that your being here was a contributing factor to my presence." He winked and gave the pianist a kiss on the cheek, to which she responded by blushing deep red.

"You're ridiculous," she said. Her attitude regarding the man had changed slightly since the 'bet' incident, although Alice had wholeheartedly forgiven him. She had taken to being slightly sharper, if not much.

"You still love me." He winked, and they were interrupted by Charlotte, who came out of the kitchen almost faster than her protruding stomach allowed.

"No baby-making in my living room, you two. Lovely to see you, Roy. Sorry about worrying you with my call earlier. This is my husband, Brent."

Roy nodded in accordance with seeing Charlotte's husband, and Brent smiled in greeting. Alice flashed a look between her sister and the military man; there was a _phone call_? Could Charlotte invade her personal life any more? Such questions were to remain unanswered for all time.

"Well, shall we eat?" Charlotte inquired, motioning towards the table. After a few moments, everyone was seated around the large table. Charlotte had Luke seated at the head of the table with herself and Alice on either side. Brianna was opposite her brother and between Roy and Brent.

"Aunty Alice, I though you said that Uncle Roy had to work," Brianna pointed out as her father cut her meat into pieces.

"He did work, sweetheart," Alice replied, not paying attention. She was a bit upset that Charlotte had gone behind her back to invite Roy to supper.

"Is there something wrong, Alice?" Brent asked innocently.

Alice only sighed and shook her head before taking a bite of potato. She decided that right then was not the right time to show irritation.

Roy decided to break the tension that Alice created by striking up conversation. He turned towards Charlotte, "So, when is the baby due?"

"Baby? What baby?" Brent looked up from his plate in confusion. "What are you talking about? Are you calling my wife fat?"

Roy looked towards the man and smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't talking about Charlotte…" Simultaneously, everyone at the table stared at the colonel. "Well, Alice, are you going to tell them, or shall I?"

Alice decided that the best course of action was take another stab at those potatoes. After doing so, she then realized how utterly pissed she was at Charlotte; though Roy had complied to her sister's demands, this was probably the best opportunity to get back at her elder sibling.

"…I had been wanting to keep it a secret for a bit. Charlotte tends to get a little… overexcited over such things." With a smile, slightly sad at the fact Roy had told them before she got to, Alice said, "Yes, it's true. I'm going to be having a baby."

Charlotte's jaw dropped, and Brianna's eyes instantly lit up. "What? That means Aunty Alice and Uncle Roy made me a cousin? When is he going to get here, Aunty?"

Roy sent a wicked grin her way, happy to have found a partner in crime in the usually subdued Alice. "Actually, Bri, it might be a girl. We aren't sure yet."

"Alice is planning on moving in with me shortly. She should be completely out of her old house in the next week." Roy 'lovingly' placed a kiss on the 'soon-to-be mother's' forehead, at which point Alice busted up laughing. Charlotte's look of shock was replaced by one of anger, and she burst into a string of profanities that had Brent covering the children's ears, lest Luke's first word be 'bitch.'

"I'm truly sorry, Charlotte," Roy began with a chuckle.

"And I'm really not. You had it coming for messing with my personal life," Alice said, taking a bite of meat.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have to mess with your personal life if you would actually tell me things! But no, I have to hear them from Ivy!" Charlotte's face went from anger to terror and the room fell silent.

Brent looked up with his mouth full of food and asked, "'Sumth'in wron', hunny?"

"M-My water just broke…" Everyone grew wide-eyed.

Brent gulped down his food. "Wait, what was that? I couldn't hear you; I was eating."

"My water just broke you idiot!"

"Oh… We should probably do something about that, huh?"

"Yeah, Brent! We need to get her to a hospital!" Alice exclaimed.

"But what about supper?"

"Your child is being born and all you care about is food? What the hell is wrong with you?" Charlotte yelled and a string of curses flew out when she had a contraction.

"Aunty Alice? How do you break water?" Brianna asked her aunt innocently.

"Very carefully, sweetheart," Alice replied as she rushed to help her sister get out the door.

Roy and Brent took over for Alice and managed to get the woman out of the house and into the car. It was Alice's job as aunt to gather up the children and get them to the car as well. "This is your fault, Alice," Charlotte complained from the front seat. "If you and your stupid boyfriend hadn't been so mean to me… Oh, who am I kidding, I can't stay mad at you two. BRENT! GET YOUR ASS IN THE CAR! DO I HAVE TO DRIVE MYSELF TO THE GODDAMNED HOSPITAL?"

"No, dear. That would be dangerous…for the other drivers." Brent turned toward Roy and Alice, "Sorry about this, she's a bit…hormonal…"

"Please, I lived with her through those awkward teenage years. Do you know who she took her anger out on? It certainly wasn't you, Brent. It's your turn now," Alice said with a wink.

With a sigh, and a mumble about how, 'this isn't even our car, we borrowed it from my parents,' Brent hopped in the driver's seat. Alice turned to the black-haired man who stood beside her, and said, "You don't have to come."

Roy chuckled as Alice took Luke in her arms, grabbing Brianna by the hand and putting her in the car ahead of him. "Please. As if I'd let my Alice go something like this alone."

Alice smiled in response, and to the lovely music of Charlotte screaming with worry, the hospital had never seemed farther away.


	15. A Hard Day's Night

**A/N:** CHAPTER 15! WHOOT! WHOOT! This is exciting! We made it! YESSSSSSSSS! Are you excited? Because I think that you should be super-excited right now. Like ecstatic. Like jumping off the walls, chair dancing, and singing a song of your own composition excited. Yeah. Maybe not, but authors can dream, can't we? ;) Anyway, there's quite a bit of RoyXAlice Fluff in this chapter along with some funny Brianna bits. Luke isn't as funny because he can't talk yet... :( I should have made his character older... *sigh* Oh well. :) Anyway, after this story is done (but don't worry, we still have at least five more chapters to pump out before even THINKING of quitting) we're thinking of doing a canon crackfic booklet of random oneshots for this fandom. We'll let you know the name of it at a later date so hopefully you'll follow that one too. :) Okay, I think I'm done...

**Special thanks to our lovely reviewers for helping us get this far:** Charlie (We very much enjoyed both of your reviews, by the way. I'm glad that your vocabulary has expanded! Unwarranted is an awesome word! ^^), chocolvr (You signed in! :D Lex and I go back to school next week, so I dunno about finishing it by then. But I think our goal is to finish it by the end of August. ^^ And I'm glad that you appreciate Brent's ridiculousness.), Lady Skorpio (HI! WE LOVE YOU, OUR LOVELY NEW REVIEWER! :D Okay, I'm done being creepy. ^^ I'm so glad that someone likes Alice better than Ivy. You have no idea how happy that makes me. ^^), Evalyd Yamazaki (Ah...Gotta love the library...Even if the people do stare at you... Thanks for reviewing! ^^ This chapter has some funnies in it too.)

You know what I think? I think that in celebration of making it this far, we should add another segment to our author's note. So without further ado...

**Random Bittersweet fact #1:** Ivy's character was originally only supposed to appear in one or two chapters and never be mentioned again.

Good idea? Bad idea? There's a shit ton of more random facts if you like this segment. ^^

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, I would yell at Havoc profusely for smoking. It's not healthy... ;)

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The family rushed to the hospital with Charlotte's clan in the first car and with Alice and Roy following close behind in the second. Despite going through this with her elder sister two times before, Alice was still worried. She stared intently at the car in front of them, worrying. Roy put a hand reassuringly on the woman's and glanced at her while saying, "She'll be fine, Alice."

Alice sighed and glared at Roy until his hand retreated with a slight smirk. "It's not her that I'm worried about." Roy cocked an eyebrow. "I'm worried about Brent! Charlotte is likely to kill him!"

Roy couldn't help but chuckle at the pianist. He found it very amusing that she was so concerned for her brother-in-law while her sister was in labor. "Do you not believe me?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, no. I definitely believe you. But then again, I wouldn't find anything you tell me about Charlotte surprising after meeting her twice."

"Do you see what I had to live with for eighteen years?" she complained with a small smile.

"At least you didn't have to live with both Charlotte and Havoc as a child. Hell, I only have to work with Havoc and I'm pretty sure I've wanted to kill him since the first day."

Alice blinked in surprise as the colonel kept his eyes entirely focused on the road. "Really? Compared to Charlotte, Jean seems as though he might've been able to keep me sane. And even though you don't want to admit it, I'm fairly certain my brother's a good guy."

Roy smiled slightly, flicking a glance the woman's way and laughing. "You've entirely adopted him as your brother, haven't you?" Alice blushed, not even having realized how easily calling Jean Havoc her brother had rolled off her tongue.

"I s-suppose you're right. He might as well be; he's around often enough to be, just checking in and whatnot. Between him and Ivy, though, I'm nearly driven crazy." A shy smile appeared on the woman's face, she herself remembering the various antics of the two, together or on their own.

The hospital came more quickly than Alice had anticipated, with Brent quickly getting out of the car and Roy following, the two men helping Charlotte out of the vehicle and into the hospital while Alice rounded up the gaggle of Lauden children and guided them in that general direction as well.

Charlotte was swept away in a rush, Brent briefly thanking Alice for watching the children before running after her and the doctors who were taking his wife away. Brianna began crying as she heard her mother scream over and over in pain, starting to run after her parents before Alice grabbed her.

"B-but, Aunty A, something's w-wrong with Mommy!" the girl wailed, and Alice's heart broke at the little girl's sobs. With Luke on one hip, Alice grabbed Brianna's hand and led her back to one of the couches in the lobby.

Alice pulled the little girl close to her in a comforting hug and cooed to the little girl. "Shh...Brianna...It's okay. Mommy will be okay. Everything's alright, sweetheart. And you know what? You'll get a new brother or sister when Mommy's done. Won't that be fun?"

The little girl sniffed and looked up at her aunt. "It better be a girl."

Alice couldn't help but laugh at the little girl and Roy chuckled softly. "Now, now, Bri. You'll love the baby even if it is a boy. You'll love it as much as you love Luke." The little boy gurgled at the sound of his name.

"I guess," she replied wiping her eyes, "But I'd love a sister more..." Alice let out a little giggle and seated the little girl next to her.

"I'm sorry this had to happen," Alice turned to Roy. "You don't have to stay, Roy. I know you have work tomorrow. And I'm sure that sitting in a waiting room isn't exactly on the top of your list of things to do on a Thursday night."

Roy smirked kindly. "While that may be true, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I just left you here?" He winked.

Alice blushed slightly before mumbling, "A smart one?"

He chuckled, and said, "I'm a lot of things, but no deserter, dear Alice."

Alice smiled as the man gave her a kiss on the forehead, and while Brianna busied herself with a doll, Luke fell straight asleep. Never before had Alice been so happy that Charlotte had entirely low maintenance children; Charlotte had much going for her, and she had been blessed with much. Her parenting skills were _not _to be scoffed at, considering Brent was often more another child than a spouse.

A flash of worry ran through Alice, and she locked up briefly. The pianist quickly did a run-through of any hereditary problems that ran in the family (entirely unwarranted, due to the fact that Charlotte had already had _two_ children), checking to make sure there were no clotting disorders or anything. Roy watched in slight amusement as the gears began whirring in the woman's head, and Alice began checking things off in a mental list.

Once entirely satisfied that Charlotte's genetic structure was sound, Alice breathed a sigh of relief. Roy leaned his head back, closing his eyes for a moment. Alice blinked, once again remarking that he really _could _leave if he wanted to.

Roy only chuckled in response. "It's really fine. I'm not going anywhere. If I can't wait for someone else to give birth, I'd be in quite a bind when our little guy is born." He put an hand on Alice's flat stomach and did his best to make a fatherly facial expression.

Alice lightly slapped Roy's cheek. "No one likes a smart aleck," she said with a smile.

"I disagree. You fell for me, didn't you?" He winked and withdrew his hand. Alice blushed lightly as Roy rested an arm on the couch's back, behind Alice. "Just relax, Alice. I'm not going anywhere and Charlotte will be fine. Sit back and relax."

Alice obeyed reluctantly. There was just so much to worry about, but she decided to listen to the colonel. "I feel a bit silly for being so worried. Childbirth may seem like nothing compared to what you probably saw in Ishbal..." Alice didn't think before she spoke and Roy immediately tensed up. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up. I'm sorry."

Roy glanced at the woman and feigned a smile intended to reassure her. She didn't fall for his attempt at a smile. His eyes were too dark with bad memories and regret. "No, it's fine. And childbirth is nothing like what happened in Ishbal. Childbirth results in something other than death and destruction." Roy had a faraway look in his eyes as he stared at the shiny floor.

"I still shouldn't have brought it up..."

Roy's only response was to stay silent; Alice stared down at the ground before quietly saying, "You really can leave, if you want. I'm not brilliant, but I'm smart enough to know when I've triggered the wrong nerve."

The man didn't meet her eyes, instead focusing on a point located on the far wall. "A lot of things happened back then. Things I'm not comfortable talking about. You kill a man once, and after that you aren't the same, Alice."

Alice's gaze never left the floor; clearly there was a lot to him that she'd never even bothered to figure out. "I know... that I may not be the most ideal person to talk to. And I know men are odd about talking about things. But I'm always here should you wish to unload on someone. There aren't many things I'm good at, but I can always listen." Her cheeks turned red at the thought; he was probably mad at her. The last thing Roy would want to do was talk about his problems when she had so unscrupulously brought them up...

Alice started in, intending to apologize again, when Brianna exclaimed that she was practically dying of thirst. The girl started off in the direction of the hospital cafeteria, and without a thought, Alice set Luke down on the couch where they had been sitting as she and Roy got to their feet. In a span of three seconds, the pianist had wrapped her arms around the man, still in military blue, and with her head buried in his chest, she mumbled over and over again that she was sorry.

Roy gave the woman a soft smile, one she couldn't see, and hugged back before Brianna once again began saying how she was literally dying, she was so thirsty. Alice re-picked up Luke, and they four set off.

"It's really okay, Alice. Don't stress over it. You just surprised me." His last words were said with a chuckle, and he placed a kiss in her hair.

Brianna finally quieted down after Roy treated her to hot chocolate and coffee for himself and Alice. "Thank you, Uncle Roy," the little girl said, chocolate covering her lip.

Roy smiled slightly. "You're welcome, kiddo."

"Yes, thank you," Alice added as she sipped the warm liquid. The four had managed to grab a small table in the cafeteria with a booster seat for Luke.

"Aunty Alice? Do you think Mommy's okay?"

"Of course, sweetheart. I'm sure she's fine," Alice replied with a small smile.

"Why hasn't my sister been born yet?" the little girl asked impatiently.

"Brianna, don't be disappointed if it's a boy, okay? And it takes a long time for a baby to be born."

"Why?"

"It just does."

The little girl looked over to the colonel and asked bluntly, "Uncle Roy? Where do babies come from anyway?"

Roy quickly swallowed his coffee before he could burst out into a hearty laugh. "Wh-What was that again?"

"Where do babies come from?" she asked again, eyes wide with innocence.

After another chuckling fit, Roy stopped and made a serious face. "I'm not sure if I can tell you that, Brianna. It's a top military secret, after all..."

The girl's eyes widened. "It _is_?"

"Of course! So naturally, I can't tell _anyone_. You understand, don't you?" he sent a wink Alice's way and she sighed with relief. The little girl nodded eagerly and went back to sipping her hot chocolate.

Hours passed and there was still no word of Charlotte or the baby. Luke had fallen asleep in Alice's arms and Brianna's head rested in her aunt's lap as she slept. Alice yawned. "You know you don't have to stay, Roy. It's getting late."

Roy smiled gently and put his arm around the pianist. "I'm fine. I can't leave you alone in this state anyway."

"What state?" she yawned again, but more deeply this time.

"The state of unconsciousness," he replied quietly with a small smirk. It wasn't long before Alice, too, nodded off snuggled up to Roy with her head resting on his shoulder. The colonel smiled down at the small woman and her niece and nephew. All this happened because of a bet. Though Havoc still owed him the money, Roy was content with this reward. He planted a kiss softly on the pianist's forehead and closed his eyes briefly.

"Hey, Roy." Roy felt a large hand shaking his shoulder slightly. "Roy!"

"Huh?" he said sleepily. His eyes opened to find Brent standing in front of him. "Oh. How'd it go?"

"It went fine. Charlotte is resting now. I'm the proud father of twins!" he said excitedly. He stooped down and plucked Luke from Alice's arms and lifted Brianna from her lap. Brianna only made a small noise of discomfort before she drifted back off to sleep.

"Twins?" Roy asked, surprised.

"A boy and a girl." Brent smiled widely despite the bags under his eyes. "They're a bit small, but they're healthy."

"Congratulations, Brent," Roy said with a small smile.

"Thanks." He turned to leave before stopping. "Oh! I almost forgot! We may want to wake Alice up to hear her new niece and nephew's names."

Roy looked down at the sleeping woman. She looked so peaceful... "Would it be possible for me to just relay the information to her when she wakes up?" Roy asked; he didn't want to wake Alice unless absolutely necessary. Besides, it wasn't every day that she would let him be that close to her.

Brent smiled knowingly. "Well, the boy's name is Alister Roy and my little girl's name is Roya Jean-Alice."

Roy couldn't help but smirk at Charlotte and Brent's name choice. "Charlotte said she wanted to name the twins after her sister and soon-to-be-brother-in-law," Brent explained with a wink.

Roy's eyes widened before reverting to their natural state. "I sincerely hope you don't regret naming your children that..."

Brent cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't give us a reason to, Roy. She likes you. A lot. And, as you know..." Brent's eyes softened as he focused on a sleeping Alice. "She isn't exactly the type to get attached to people. So be careful with her, Roy."

Brent went off again, back to his wife, taking Luke and Brianna with him. With Alice still asleep on his shoulder, Roy asked one of the people running the counter to bring him the phone. When the woman complied, he rang a number from memory.

_"Chief? What the hell do you want? It's one in the morning..."_

_"_I won't be at work tomorrow, Havoc. I've got... a prior engagement."

_"Yeah, yeah, okay, okay. Just, goddamnit, call in the morning next time..."_

Roy Mustang hung up the phone, giving it back to the woman before falling asleep with his Alice leaning on his shoulder.


	16. We Can Work It Out

**A/N: . -takes a deep breath- We updated~ Sorry for taking so long - I got a foreign exchange sis, and she was settling in (her name's Jenny, she's from Denmark), and Melissa was - **I was on vacation in Michigan. Yeah. So, sorry for the delay, and yeah. Here it is! :D

**Special thanks to our favorite people in the world, our reviewers: **Shadow (We loved Roy's answer too. I'm pretty sure that I'll answer to my kids' questions. ^^), Fire and Ice (Yay! Song-time! :D I think you're the only who actually composed a song! We heart your face!), Lady Skorpio (Well, yeah, they know about Havoc. He's their brother. ;D), PirateZombieNinjaChicks a.k.a. chocolvr (Isn't fluffiness beeyootiful? Lex quite enjoys it.), and Charlie (Did you know that we freakin' adore you for reviewing three times? That's _beautiful_ of you to do such a thing! And hey, here's your update!) You guys are _fantastic~_

**Random Bittersweet Fact #2: Alice was originally going to be named Ivy, but we decided it was too strong a name. She was also going to be Violet for awhile as well; plant names were really popular before we settled on Alice.**

Disclaimer: **We don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, for if we did, Alex Louis Armstrong would be like, The Dancing Fairy Sparkle Alchemist. Or something to that effect.  
**

* * *

The blush on Alice's face when she woke up to find herself on Roy's shoulder didn't rub off until she had gotten home. Charlotte's children were beautiful, though she couldn't believe that the woman had named them what she had. She got to hold little Alister and little Roya, and after doing so was told she had to leave the hospital. Roy took the woman home, as Alice was _not _about to go walking home at three in the morning.

Roy went home, and Staccato greeted Alice with a hearty meow as she crawled into bed.

The next day, being Friday as it was, Alice was exhausted, despite the three students she had to teach that day. Not to mention Willa. Oh, Willa... The thought alone made Alice shudder. Somehow, though, Alice managed to suffer through the day, taking power naps between students and cursing the world every time a knock came on her front door. By five, however, thankfully, Alice had managed to get a decent enough amount of sleep to stay awake until it was nighttime once more.

At six, there was a knock on her door yet again. She opened it to find..."Ivy?"

"Alice! Let's go get drunk!" the woman tried to pull her neighbor out of her house. "Come on! You need to drink your troubles away! And maybe we can find you a new boyfriend!"

"As, er, lovely as that sounds, Ivy, I'd really rather not..." Alice said quietly. She hadn't told Ivy that she and Roy had made up.

"Alice, believe me, if you don't get back into the dating world right away, it'll be even harder. That's why I'm taking you out to find a new boyfriend!" Ivy turned to find none other than Roy Mustang standing directly behind her with a smirk on his face.

"And what's so bad about her current boyfriend?"

"Roy Mustang. What the hell are you doing here? Alice doesn't want you anymore, you lying asshole! How dare you show up here after what you did to her?" Ivy spat.

"Um...Ivy?" Alice tried to cut in.

"Don't you worry, Alice, I'll take care of him for you!"

"But, Ivy..."

"Let's go, Alice!"

"Ivy! For goodness sakes, stop talking!" Ivy immediately stopped at the sound of Alice's raised voice. She turned to Roy, "Hello, Roy. How are you?"

Roy smirked and replied, "I'm very amused right now... I take it that you didn't tell her that we're together, my dear Alice?" Alice blushed slightly and shook her head. "Well, are you ready to go?"

"Go? Where? I didn't know that we have plans tonight..."

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. You two are _together_? Like _officially_?" They both nodded and Alice continued to blush. "Why did no one tell me this?"

Ivy's eyes grew wide, and she slid close to Alice's side; "Does this mean there was… fornication?"

Alice briefly looked to Roy before shoving Ivy away frantically. "Not that _I'm _aware of, and even if we _had _fornicated it wouldn't be any of _your damn business, __**Ivy**__!"_

Alice refused to look up from the floor, while Ivy grinned mischievously. "Sweetheart, it's only a matter of time before it happens–"

With that, Alice grabbed Roy's wrist, pulling him inward while simultaneously pushing Ivy out. She slammed the door in the woman's face, all the while she was protesting, before smiling shyly at the man who stood before her. "…It's Ivy. That's my only explanation for what she does."

"Oh, that makes up for everything. What can I say? Her words really pierced my heart…" Roy gave her a wink worthy of his status and looks, but she had meandered away far enough as to not see it.

With a sigh and a smile, Roy asked, "Ready to go?" Alice nodded in response, checking all the light bulbs briefly before she went out. It hadn't rained for a few days; she had no choice but to be cautious.

When they went out the door, arm in arm, they found Ivy still on the doorstep. "Ivy! Go _home_!"

"But, but, _Alice…_!" Roy couldn't help but chuckle at Ivy's crestfallen expression.

"It's okay, Ivy. I promise I'll get her a bit drunk for you." She brightened a bit at this while Alice gave Roy a playful glare, to which he responded with a wink.

To Alice's surprise, her neighbor let the couple pass at Roy's promise. And the two got into the car and made their way to the restaurant. "So, um, sorry about Ivy."

Roy smiled. "I assure you, my dear Alice, that I'm very used to it by now."

"How is that even possible? I've been living next to her for over a year and I'm _still_ not used to her!" The colonel laughed lightly. "What's so funny about that?"

Roy put his hand on the woman's knee and glanced her way with a smirk. "Ivy's the only thing that you really get riled up about. I just find it rather amusing…"

It wasn't as if they were doing anything out of the ordinary for the two of them; it wasn't the first time they'd gone to dinner, and she was always wholeheartedly praying that there would be another around the corner. Despite all that had happened with the bet, the woman still considered the black-haired man to be quite the gentleman – regardless of his occasional tendency to get, as she put it, _forward_.

"It's not amusing to have to answer all her questions about _fornicating…_"

"Really? Because I can surely talk to her about it, if you'd like, my dear Alice." Roy floated a wink Alice's way, and an exclamation burst from her lips.

"What? The last thing I want is for _you_ to say anything to her about you and I being sexually involved…" With a brief pause, Alice started up again, saying, "And don't you dare get any ideas…"

Well, if it she _were _going to do such a thing with someone, it would probably be Roy anyw–

That thought was thankfully cut short by the arrival of the two to the restaurant, and despite her date's questions, Alice's deep, dark blush would remain unexplained.

Roy had reserved a small table for them in the back corner. He knew that Alice preferred the privacy. They ordered their food and Roy took the liberty of ordering wine to fulfill his promise to Ivy. As not to be rude, Alice sipped at her wine and commented on how delicious it was.

"You don't have to drink it if you really don't like it, you know," Roy said with a smirk as he took up his glass.

"No, no, really, it's good…"

"Now, Alice, you really shouldn't lie to your boyfriend." Alice gave the man a joking smile.

"Now, Roy, you really shouldn't be mean to your girlfriend…"

Dinner progressed with light, playful banter as they ate. Shortly after receiving their meals, a waitress came over carrying a telephone. "Excuse me, sir, but you have a call."

Roy put the phone up to his ear and gave Alice an apologetic smile. "Mustang. What do you want, Hughes? I'm in the middle of something. What? Yes, I'm with Alice." Alice could see a vein in Roy's forehead pulsate. "That's none of your business. What do you want?" The man's face grew serious suddenly. "Oh. Yeah, I'll take care of it. Yeah." With that, he hung up and the waitress left with the telephone. The man stood up with conviction, sending Alice an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry, Alice. I have to postpone this date until a later time; something came up with work, and I have to leave immediately." With a quick kiss on the cheek and not another word on the matter, Roy left.

As a general rule, Alice would not have been one to question what Roy was doing; but, that was just so out of character for the man… Therefore, against her better judgment, Alice Ackerman arose from the table just as her boyfriend had before her, and took the same path he had.

Stepping out the door, Alice caught only the tail end of Roy Mustang's coat before he took off around the corner, moving more briskly than the woman had anticipated. With a few brief steps in his general direction, the woman quickly decided that heels were not a good idea, and though she knew she wouldn't be able to run far, Alice busted off that which gave her height. With the heels gone off her shoes, Alice quickly took off toward the man, only to round the corner and see that he had disappeared from view. With a sigh, Alice continued on quickly, rounding another corner to briefly catch sight of him again.

After catching up with him there, she found Roy Mustang face-to-face with a dark-skinned man in a yellow jacket.

"Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. What a righteous day this is." Roy didn't respond in words, instead slipping on the gloves she had seen him wear from time to time. _Flame Alchemist…?_

Her bewildered thoughts were met with a raging inferno, and Alice Ackerman's eyes widened in utter terror. When all had calmed, and the fire had dimmed, Scar had disappeared; Roy Mustang turned with an exclamation of "Shit!" and found his girlfriend standing behind him.

When their eyes met, all he could see in her was pure, unbridled fear. "Alice? Alice, what are you doing here? It's dangerous. Let's get you home." The man's eyes were dark with concern while his face still managed to seem cheerful. Alice just stared at him with a look of absolute horror as frightened tears began to form in her eyes. "Alice…? Come on, I think I should take you home now."

He took a small step in her direction and her eyes grew even wider as tears fell down her cheeks. A frightened noise escaped from her lips. He knew that dark look in her eyes all too well. He had seen it in Ishbal more times than he wanted to remember. It was a look that a human gets right when they realize that they are going to die. It was a look that Roy Mustang had never wished to see again. A piece of him died when Alice, _his Alice_, had that very look in those green eyes that he had become so fond of. Roy tried to take another step towards Alice. The woman turned and ran, tears streaming down her face.

"Alice? Alice! Alice!" Roy called, starting to run after her, but thinking better of it half a block later. "Alice…my Alice." Roy sighed with a rueful look on his face before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking back to his car.

Alice didn't stop running until she reached her house. Once her door was locked and bolted, she sunk to the floor and put her face in her sweaty palms. She just couldn't believe it…

And she knew for a fact that she was altogether overreacting. But she couldn't make herself feel anything but petrified.


	17. Not A Second Time

**A/N: **Urggh... I'm tired. Sorry it took so long, guys. Lex and I started school on Wednesday. It was _not_ a good three days to say the least. Only 177 left. Anyway, this chapter may have taken a while, but I'm decently proud of it. It's not as funny as most of our other chapters. This one's really important to the story and the next chapter will be even more important. By the way, this one isn't really fluffy. Like, at all. But Benji's in it! And everyone loves him! :D

**Special thanks to our reviewers:** Shadow (Fire explanation is in this very chapter. ^^ And I feel sorry for both of them too.) and Charlie (Guess what? IT TOTALLY WAS SCAR! :D ...I felt that was necessary. And, hey! We updated! Sorry it took so long. This was a very hard chapter to write, not to mention intense.)

**Random Bittersweet Fact #3: **Alice's Monday students, Liz and Benji, weren't planned out at all. Lex came up with Liz's personality and I inserted Benji on a whim. They, too, weren't meant to show up more than once or twice.

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, I would challenge Havoc to a game of Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots.

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Alice did not move from her position on the floor until late the next morning. She was too petrified to move. Too petrified to sleep. Too petrified to do more than stare wide-eyed at the floor, cry, and remember. The only reason Alice even moved from her spot in front of the door that morning was due to the fact that someone was knocking upon it. She immediately tensed up. What if it was Roy? She began to hyperventilate until a familiar voice called out, "Miss A? Are you home? Miss A?"

She slowly opened the door to find Benji on her doorstep with a pie in his hands. "Hey, Miss A. My mom went on one of her baking frenzies and told me to give you this pie. It's peach." The boy looked at his piano teacher and immediately demanded, "What did he do to you, Miss A?"

"Wh-What? I d-don't know what you're talking about..."

"Miss A. I know it was _his_ fault that you're crying," the boy said darkly.

"I-It's not his fault, Benji," Alice said quickly, "If anything, this is my fault."

Benji's eyes were still dark with anger as the woman let him inside and took the pie into the kitchen. Once they were seated in the living room, Benji's eyes closed with some sort of hidden pain. "Miss A, I was young when my dad died. But as I was growing up, he always told me that if I _ever_ made a woman cry more than once over something that I did or said, that I didn't deserve her love."

"Benji? How does this apply?"

"Just listen. When Dad left to fight in the war in Ishbal, I saw my mom cry for the first time. I counted that as strike one for him. Mom wouldn't cry so long as the letters kept coming in the mail. But then a letter directly from the military came. That was the second time that Mom cried in front of me. That was strike two. But I couldn't understand something: Mom still loved my dad even though he had caused her so much grief. I hated my father for so long because he caused her so much pain. She always cried. She would never do it in front of me; she was too proud for that. But I could hear her sobbing late at night and whispering his name in the other room. I hated him. I hated him so much that I could have killed him myself if the Ishbalans hadn't gotten to him first." The boy sighed and shook his head.

"But you know what, Miss A? I realized something. No one could do anything to deserve the love that my mother holds for Dad. I'm not even so sure that I deserve her love. What I'm getting at is that Colonel Roy Mustang doesn't deserve to be the one you waste your tears on. But to go with that, he doesn't completely deserve this second strike."

The boy stood and made his way to the door, leaving Alice on the couch, utterly confused. "I'm not sure if I really believe in what alchemists call 'Equivalent Exchange'. Hell, I'm not even sure if I believe in love, to be honest. But what I do know is that you and the colonel had something going right. And though it's not exactly equivalent, it has the potential to be."

With hysterical tears in her eyes, Alice briefly hugged Benji before pulling back with tears in her eyes. "If nothing else, Benji, you deserve free lessons after all you've done for me..."

Benji waved her off with a shrug of his shoulders. "Nah, Miss A. You really just looked like you needed someone to say that to you... Like I said, if I can't help my mom, the least I can do is help you." A wave of sadness washed over his face, and Alice's eyes softened through her tears.

"I'm clearly not good for much other than bawling, but I... can always listen if you want to talk. I understand if you aren't comfortable, but I'm open if you wish."

Benji smiled quietly, saying, "Thanks Miss A. That means a ton; I might do that." Getting up from where he sat, he gave the woman a smile. "I should be getting home, now. I hope you enjoy your pie. If you like it, I'll be sure to have my mom make another."

Roy Mustang moped around his house all of that Saturday. He just didn't understand what he did wrong. Women had been a little uneasy of his alchemical powers in the past, but he hadn't seen anyone so deathly afraid of him since Ishbal. And seeing as how it was Alice that was so afraid, it tore open those old wounds. But, of course, the man would never admit such things.

Roy sighed and ran a hand through his bed head. He didn't bother changing his clothes or combing his hair. It wasn't like anyone would show up to see him; with the occasional exception of Hughes or Havoc. Havoc he could usually scare away, but Hughes...oh Hughes; he didn't leave until he was absolutely satisfied that Roy was alright. It was something that Roy found annoying the majority of the time. On those other rare occasions, the man was actually glad for the company. This was another thing that Roy Mustang would never admit.

Roy continued to wallow in self-pity as he tried to figure out why she ran. _Am I really so powerful that she just couldn't take the heat?_ Roy shook his head and frowned at his awful attempt at a pun. _I wonder how much she saw, anyway... Did she see Scar? Did he see that she was with me?_ Roy's eyes widened slightly at this thought and his grip on the arms of his chair grew stronger. _If that __**bastard**__ so much as __**thinks**__ of going anywhere __**near**__ my Alice, I'll burn him to a crisp, put his ashes back together and burn him again! _The man forced himself to slow his breathing and think rationally. Why was it that he always got so protective of her? And when exactly did he start thinking of her as _his_? Roy didn't know. All he knew was that he protected what was his. He protected it with everything he had.

Alice sighed. It wasn't _his_ fault that she was absolutely petrified. To the contrary, he would be one of the few who could help her get over it. In her head she'd been thinking of ways to tell him that, to express to Roy that the fault was hers and that there was nothing he could have done that would have made her react differently.

_You see, Roy, when I was little, my parents, my sister, and I lived in a grand house in the country near Central..._

Contrary to what Benji had told his piano teacher, he wasn't anywhere near ready to go home yet. It was odd; Alice had grown to be like a second mother to the teen, and he certainly wasn't going to let Colonel Roy Mustang screw things up.

_Well, it wasn't grand; but it certainly was nice enough. I lived in it until I was seven, and I loved every moment of it..._

A knock came on Roy's door, and the man rolled his eyes. Briefly checking the odds as to how chancy it was Havoc rather than Hughes, Roy swung the door open, bedhead and all, only to reveal a teen taller than himself.

_A heatwave came through town, and a drought along with it. In fact, it was sort of like how the weather's been nowadays._

"Benji, right? One of... Alice's students." Roy nodded at the dark-haired boy who stood before him before inviting him in. Benji quickly obliged, staying silent all the time until he was seated and staring the military man straight in the face.

_I was a really stupid child, in all honesty. I forgot to blow out a candle that I had lit, and combined with the dryness and heat... our house went up in flames like a match._

"So what brings you here?"

"Miss A. You've been close to her for all this time and you don't even know," the boy said darkly, looking at the floor.

"What?"

_Of course, I didn't realize this until I awoke with flames engulfing my bedroom and the rest of the house along with it._

"First the bet, and now this. Honestly, Colonel...How could you _not_ know?"

"For God's sake, kid! What the hell are you talking about?" Roy's voice rose in irritation.

_There was nowhere to go. I couldn't hide. All I could do was sit and watch the flames taunt me. I was frozen. Time and Space meant nothing. Only myself and the Flames, slowly becoming one, existed._

Benji looked up slowly and met the colonel's dark gaze. "She's afraid of fire, Colonel. She's scared shitless." Roy's earth shattered slightly as everything slowly came together. The stove. The candle at the restaurant. Obsessively checking light bulbs. How she ran away the night before. It all fit together.

_There's not a whole lot to tell after that. Everyone managed to get out. I was the only one injured. I had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks because of the burns. But I hope you can understand now, Roy, why I ran away from you last night. And why I always check my stove. As you can see, it's not your fault. It's just my own stupid fear getting in the way._

Benji looked down at the floor again once he saw that Roy understood. "That's all I really had to say." The boy stood. "Oh, by the way, Colonel, though this one isn't all your fault, it's still strike two. Don't get a third strike, Colonel. If you do, I may have to kill you."

Roy looked up with a slight smirk. "Are you threatening the Flame Alchemist, kid?"

The boy offered a tiny smile. "No. I'm threatening Roy Mustang: the man who made my Alice cry."

"Excuse me? _Your _Alice?"

"Pardon me, I meant my _second mother_." And with that, the boy went out into the street. That time, Benji really did begin to head home, hoping he had fixed more wounds and not made any new ones.

Alice sighed, opening her eyes yet again. That indeed seemed like a good enough explanation. Nonetheless, Roy would have to accept it, because it was all she had to give. If he couldn't accept that and forgive her for being an idiot, then there was nothing else that she could do...

The air was growing especially dry that night; frankly, it hadn't rained in far too long a time, in Alice's eyes. The day was coming to a close, and as such she would turn in. It was only 7:30, but... there was nothing else she could do, except maybe go see Roy.

She figured it was too late for that, however.

Roy, on the other hand, had decided to go fix things once more with his Alice (or Benji's Alice, depending on who you asked), despite the hour. It would probably be around eight by the time he got there, and she went to bed early, but he hoped she would be awake still.

As Alice turned off the last of the lights in her house, she watched a single spark flicker before her eyes. In shock, the woman backed away; the spark fell on her favorite piece of sheet music, setting it ablaze, and soon after igniting the table beneath it.

She backed into her closet and closed the door. Maybe the flames would die down?

Alice couldn't help it. She began to cry in fear. First Roy, then remembering the past, and now this. A part of her thought she was dreaming. And she convinced herself so for a long time.

...Until smoke began billowing from under the door and flames began to lick at her toes.

_It's happening. Oh god, oh god. This time, Daddy won't save you, Alice. This time..._ Before the woman could finish that thought, her body slumped over, unconscious.


	18. Good Day Sunshine

**A/N: You guys... Where did all our reviewers go? :( So many of you have just -poofed-, but that makes us appreciate the ones who stayed all the more. Sorry about the cliffie last chapter; everything's pretty much cleared up in this chapter, and it's quite fluff-ish towards the end, which I love... OHYEAHGUYS I read so much La Corda d'Oro in the last few days that my eyes started to _bleed_. I loved it. A lot. Shouko makes my day; TsukimoriXHino, FuyuumiXHihara, and FuyuumiXTsuchiura are my fave pairings. READ IT. IT'S THE KIND OF SHOUJO MANGA THAT MAKES LEX GIGGLE WITH HAPPINESS.**

Reviewers? I heart youur faces! Thanks to Angel Nightmare (He does! He does, I promise! He's here, and he's being awesome!), and Charlie (You're so cool for reviewing. Like, if I knew you, I would kiss you~ Well, if you were okay with that...)

Disclaimer: We don't own the Alchemist of Fullmetal. I'm being kicked off, so bye guys. :/

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A lick of a flame squeezed under the doorway where Alice had hid herself within the closet, and although it came nearer to her feet than she would have liked, she was unconscious; had she been herself, a brilliant scream would have likely lit the air. In the comfort of a dark sleep, though, Alice was relatively safe from such fear.

Roy had taken the long way to Alice's house, for fear of getting there and not knowing what to say. Doing so put an extra ten to fifteen minutes on the journey there, but he couldn't put his arrival off forever.

At the sight of her house, however, the familiar place that he had become comfortable in, Roy froze before feeling his muscles move without him instructing them to. Ivy had come out of her house, staring in wide-eyed shock before Roy shouted something along the lines of "Ivy, don't just stand there, get the damn fire department!"

Roy didn't check to see if Ivy had left with his words in mind, but instead barreled inside the home of his favorite pianist, as the house fell in on itself by the moment. Fire had never been a friend nor enemy of the man's; as a general rule it was a tool for him. This time was different, however, in that these flames were far from domestic; this fire was _wild._

The man looked around in a panic. He didn't see her anywhere. This could mean one of two things. One: she was out; this was unlikely considering that it was Alice. Or Two: she was already consumed by the flames, or buried under rubble. "Alice! Alice! Where are you!" he called out. The flames grew higher and a muffled scream was heard from the other side of a door.

"Alice!" Roy started randomly kicking in doors whenever he came to one, finding nothing at first. He was running out of time. The oxygen in the air was dwindling. Roy could feel it in every breath he took. Every time he inhaled, smoke stung at his lungs. There was only one door left. And that one lead to the closet. Roy grasped the scorching hot brass knob with a gloved hand and swung the door open.

Alice stared, glassy-eyed at the silhouette before her. Though she was staring at him, she didn't really see him. The lack of oxygen to her brain made her senses hazy, as if this was all some sort of devilish dream. It wasn't until she felt two strong arms lift her out of the blazing house that she pieced everything together. She tried to scream, but her throat was raw from the smoke. She could only manage a raspy sound.

A moment later, the fire department arrived. As it turned out, Ivy had followed Roy's instructions. If he weren't so edgy, Roy may have congratulated the woman on actually doing what she was told. But, there were far more important things at hand to be concerned with.

Her house was burning; Staccato was inside; Alice's piano was in flames; every memory she'd made there; everything that had been a part of the woman was going up in smoke. The only thing holding her to this earth was the man who, less than twenty-four hours ago, had sent her running home in terror.

"R-R...Roy." With the single word that was his name, Alice gripped the man tightly as water began to roll from her eyes. Roy blinked once before looking at the woman with an indescribable mix of pity and sadness.

"Alice... I'm sorry..." A sob came out in response to the Flame Alchemist's words before she spoke, her voice ragged and burnt.

"No. I'm s-sorry." Alice was on her feet when Ivy came running over at a full sprint, surely terrified for her friend's well-being, and at the sight of Alice crying, the younger woman burst into tears as well.

"_Alice! Are you okay?_"

"I-I'm fine, Ivy. I wasn't burned, or anything. I just... inhaled too much s-smoke." Ivy clutched the other woman in her arms, and for the first time, Alice actually hugged back.

"Alice, I'm taking you home," Roy said decisively.

"H-Home? My home is practically burned to the ground," Alice sobbed loudly. And a thought crossed her mind. "Staccato! He's still inside! No, no, no... You have to save him, Roy!" She latched on to the front of the man's shirt, staring into his dark eyes as hers overflowed with tears.

Colonel Roy Mustang didn't really know what to do in a situation such as this. He couldn't very well risk his life for a cat. And besides, he doubted that the fire department would let him get close to the house, even if he flaunted his title of Flame Alchemist. Roy decided to just go with his gut on this one. He put wrapped his arms around the sobbing woman and whispered, "I'm afraid that I can't do that, Alice." She looked up at him and began bawling. "Ivy. I'm taking her home with me. Tell Charlotte. And you are under _no_ circumstances to call me or show up at my house unless there's an absolute emergency. Understood?"

Ivy nodded, eyes wide. Under different circumstances, she would have teased Alice about possible fornication with the colonel. But somehow, she thought that right then wasn't a good time.

Roy managed to get the woman into his car and they slowly went in the direction of his home. Alice seemed to suddenly realize just who it was who was sitting next to her: the man who could make fire erupt from his fingers. She slowly inched away from him. It wasn't that she was afraid of Roy, it was just that she was afraid of the Flame Alchemist. And it just happened that the two were one in the same. So, technically speaking, she was only half-afraid of Roy. Who was she kidding? She was still pretty much scared shitless.

Which left Roy with little more than a sigh on his lips and words that he couldn't possibly say with enough feeling to put Alice's mind at ease. Instead, the man settled for a mumble under his breath, with his mouth right next to the woman's ear, "Please, Alice, if you never speak to me again, trust me just this once."

And Alice, entirely against her better judgment, with her house burning up in the backdrop, did as he said. She was so disoriented that she didn't know where she was going, but Alice Ackerman knew that she trusted Roy Mustang, if not the alchemist that he was also.

The only word she could even force herself to say through the tears was, "S-Staccato..." And with every sob that left her lips after that, Roy Mustang's eyes hit the ground. He wouldn't touch her again, not if she didn't want to be touched.

Any other time he would have teased her, asked her to share the bed with him and then offset such a sentence with a wink; but not tonight. Tonight, Roy Mustang would take the floor without a word, in an entirely different room if she wished it. With the crackle of a home in flames behind them, the two walked, silent but for the convulsing sobs racking Alice's body.

Roy quickly unlocked the front door and ushered the woman in without a word. If she hadn't been so distracted by the events of the night, Alice probably would have commented on Roy's living conditions. His home wasn't plush, exactly, but it wasn't sparse either. The best word that she would eventually come up with would be "functional." He slowly showed the woman to his bedroom. After shuffling through his dresser for a moment, he turned to her and said, "You take the bed. And here." He handed her and old, button-down nightshirt. "You can change into this if you want. The bathroom's through there. Use whatever you need." He turned away. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

Alice mumbled a thank you, but Roy didn't hear. He was too busy giving her her space. Alice quickly bathed, hoping it would help her clear her mind. As it turned out, all the shower was good for (besides making her smell like Roy) was to have soap mix in with her tears. The pianist tried to sleep after that, she really did. But images kept flashing through her mind.

_I really was a stupid child...Only myself and the Flames becoming one existed..."Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. What a righteous day this is." ...It's happening. Oh god, oh god. This time, Daddy won't save you, Alice. This time... _

She awoke with a start to see afternoon light shining in through the window. She placed her head in her hands. Despite unknowingly getting a good amount of sleep, Alice was still absolutely exhausted. Her body ached, her head throbbed, her throat itched, and her lungs felt constricted. It took several moments for her to convince herself to get out of bed to get some water.

With a blink, Alice realized it was Sunday; despite it being so, it didn't immediately appear that Roy was there, although he didn't have work today. The woman got her glass of water, and retreated back into the room from whence she came, getting back into the bed she'd awoken from, although not falling back asleep. Instead she laid there, staring at the ceiling, not even touching the water that she had fetched for herself.

Roy came back in from where he had gone (which was just outside for a breath of fresh air), to hear the door to his bedroom shut. Slowly walking towards the room that Alice was in, Roy rapped on the door. "Alice?" His voice was soft. "Are you hungry at all?"

When she didn't respond, he sighed, walking away without another word. The rest of the day passed silently, without either person saying another word (occasional heartbroken word from Alice excluded), until night fell again.

Alice found it easy to fall asleep again; to stay that way was impossible, though. Wretched dreams plagued her rest, and after the third time she was ripped from sleep permanently. Grabbing her pillow, certain she wouldn't be able to sleep again, Alice gently creaked the door open, eyes still stained with red.

Her gaze lit upon Roy, sleeping on the floor as he said he would, and at the sight of him more silent tears leaked from Alice's eyes. She laid her pillow down next to his, and let herself down beside him, facing the opposite way from the Flame Alchemist. With their backs touching, Alice finally felt somewhat safe; and in that, Alice found peaceful sleep.

Roy awoke with a start to the feeling of a smaller, softer frame next to his, and as he turned over silently, he couldn't help smirking at the pianist who had found comfort next to him.

...And, as she had been the one to come to him, Roy Mustang was entirely comfortable with pulling the woman closer and leaving his arm around her as he fell back asleep.

It was early the next morning when Alice opened her eyes groggily to find herself back in Roy's bed. The colonel was buttoning up his military jacket when he noticed the woman looking at him. "Morning, Alice," he yawned. "I figured you'd be more comfortable in here." Alice blinked twice with her mouth open slightly. Roy chuckled lightly. "Go back to sleep. I have to go to work now. If you need anything, call my office, here's the number," he pushed a piece of paper towards her. "If I can't come, I'll send that damn 'brother' of yours." Alice nodded slightly and placed her head back onto the pillow.

"I'll be back, my Alice." Roy gave the sleeping woman a kiss on the forehead before he left for the day.

As Roy Mustang walked into his office, he was approached by Jean Havoc. "Hey, Colonel. I heard that there was a bit of trouble a few days ago with a certain sister of mine." Smoke undulated from the end of his cigarette.

Roy sighed. "She's fine, Havoc. She's staying with me until further notice." Jean raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to let out an inappropriate comment, but his superior gave him a glare that made him keep quiet.

Once the Colonel's back was turned, Jean Havoc smiled evilly. He thought wistfully, _i think it's about time that I pay my little sister a visit..._


	19. A Day In The Life

**A/N:**So sorry! So sorry! *bows profusely* Sooooooo soorrrrrrrryyyyyyy it took so long, guys! School was being a bitch and making us do homework. And it doesn't help that we take smart kid classes...Damn our brains! ;) Anyway, in order to make up for it, this chapter is like twice as long as normal. Also, it really doesn't have any RoyXAlice in it. Like at all... Don't go away yet! This chapter is featuring Benji! Yay! Because we're all secretly Benji fangirls. Personally, I really like this chapter and I hope that you all will appreciate its awesomeness. Yeah. That's about it... So, um...

**Special thanks to our lovely reviewers:** Requiem (WE MISSED YOU! *glomps* We seriously thought you died! We were worried!), Lady Skorpio (You won't get to see our evil plans for Jean until next chapter... Mwahahaha!), chocolvr (It's totally fine! We still heart your face! And I'm very pro Len/Kahoko myself...^^), Charlie (We didn't leave you, I swear! I would just like to take this time to say that we love you and that we're sorry for not updating very fast. But we'll try to fix it, just for you, okay? ^^), Cecil (Hi! I'm so glad you like how we write Roy! We're always so worried about keeping him in character. And thanks soooo much for reviewing! ^^), Fire and Ice (I HATE IT WHEN I'M KICKED OFF THE COMPUTER! I feel your pain. And we're just glad that you review at all!)

**Random Bittersweet Fact #4: **Sometimes, when we're really tired of writing, Lex and I put Roy in very awkward situations for our own amusement. I think one time, we decided that he would be into role-playing. Hehe...kinky... ;)

And to make up for Lex's forgetfulness last chapter: 

**Random Bittersweet Fact #5:** The whole idea for Bittersweet came as Lex and I were swimming (she was swimming, I was trying not to drown) in her gramma's lake. Needless to say, that lake is magical.

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, I would have Falman die in Hughes' place. Because no one likes Falman anyway...

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The boy sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He always got up with the sun. It was something that his father had taught him, so as not to waste the day. The boy stood and made his way to the bathroom mirror. Light brown eyes and black hair was reflected back. The boy sighed as he went through a mental list of the day's planned activities. "Just another day in the life of Benji Jeck... How very exciting."

Benji made himself a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, careful not to make too much noise so as not to wake his mother. Benji was never a big fan of oatmeal. But his father had always taught him to eat a good breakfast; and oatmeal was the man's very definition of a good breakfast. Benji didn't know why he still followed his father's guidelines to living life. He supposed that they were just apart of him. It was almost as if it was in his genetic codex to be exactly like his father.

The boy shook his head. He wasn't exactly like his father. His father didn't appreciate music. That, he got from his mother. Though, his father often sang to him as a child. Demetri Jeck's voice was deep and full. It was almost never on key, but it would still always put young Benji to sleep. Benji finished his breakfast and quickly cleaned the dishes. He couldn't figure out why he was thinking of his father so much all of a sudden. And then he realized...

It was his father's birthday.

Demetri Jeck would have been forty on that very day, and accordingly, Benji's mother was nowhere in sight. With a sigh of helplessness, Benji knew he was entirely incapable of getting his mother out of the funk she'd been in for countless years. He stayed on his feet briefly, swaying barely before deciding to head out the door.

Sadly, there were no piano lessons to be had that day, although he was definitely tempted to drop by and check on his piano teacher. The woman worried Benji; Alice reminded Benji too much of his mother, and it wasn't almost as though she was a second mom to him after all.

He decided against that impulse, however, breathing in the air, and deciding that it was going to be a day to do nothing. Benji Jeck was, of course, far from correct in that assumption; but frankly, the teenager wanted to do little more than nothing regardless. Any work of any kind would be lost on him. It was just that kind of day.

So, on that particular day, Benji decided to go to the market. He really had no business there; he just needed something to do. The marketplace bustled as it always did. Wives getting groceries, men buying hardware, children purchasing candies; it was all a familiar scene to Benji, who had lived in Central his whole life. Benji heard his name called out from somewhere behind him before he was attacked by a certain short redhead. "Benji!"

The boy sighed slightly, "Liz."

"I haven't seen you in a very long time and all you can say to me is, 'Liz'? You're a jerk, Benji Jeck. A real jerk. And to think that I grew up so well, considering that I've known someone like you my whole life..."

The boy sighed again and suppressed a small smile. "Hello, Liz. How are you?"

The girl nodded approvingly. "That's better," she said with a wink. They lightly chatted until Liz brought up the fact of the fire that engulfed Alice's home. She was surprised to find that Benji knew nothing of the incident. "Well, she's staying with that sexy colonel-boyfriend of hers. I wish _my_ house would burn down..." the girl sighed dreamily.

"...There is something wrong with you." Benji received a shove that didn't accomplish what it was intended for. At this, Liz decided to do something more effective...

The redhead's foot managed to make the taller boy stumble and fall into an unsuspecting shopper. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me help you..." Benji mumbled as he offered a hand to the blonde girl on the ground. Once the girl was on her feet again, Liz pounced.

"Hi, I'm Liz! This is Benji. You're not from around here, huh? What's your name? Where did you come from? On a scale of one to ten, how attractive do you find Benji? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you free tonight?" As the girl opened her mouth to reply, Liz started up again, "GREAT! It's settled then! You two have a date tonight at seven! Have fun you two! Bye, Benji! And you're welcome~!" And with that, Liz took off down the street, leaving the teens alone with puzzled looks on their faces.

Benji's jaw had dropped, watching Liz practically skip down the way before looking to the pretty blonde beside him. The girl was blinking rapidly, as if she was trying to regain herself after being knocked down by the whirlwind that was Liz. Shaking her head with finality, the blonde looked to him expectantly.

"Uh... Benji. Benji Jeck. You?"

The girl smiled slightly before saying, "Winry. Winry Rockbell."

An awkward silence ensued momentarily before Benji said, "Well... is there anything I can do to make up Liz's outrageous behavior to you?"

With a smile and a wink, Winry Rockbell laughingly said, "Buy me lunch?"

And Benji, with a smirk, gladly agreed; what could he say? She was cute, and honestly, he needed something to do anyway that day.

Winry, despite her earlier shocked disposition, was actually quite the chatterbox; but not an obnoxious one, not like Liz. He learned quite quickly, barely getting a word in edgewise, that Winry was from a village in the country, and had come to Central to search for a couple friends of hers who worked for the military.

She was definitely the kind of distraction that Benji Jeck needed on a day such as this, one that could've been full of a hell of a lot more heartache. It seemed that, for once, Liz's over the top personality had actually been somewhat beneficial to the teenage boy's well-being.

"So, what about you? What's it like to live here in Central?" the girl asked him with an expectant look on her face.

"Oh. Um... There's really not much to say. I've lived here my whole life, so Central really isn't anything special..."

"Oh, come on," she prodded gently, "there's got to be something special here."

Benji thought over Winry's words carefully. What was so special about Central, really? What kept him and his mom tied down there? "There are only a few special things here. Besides that, it's military headquarters."

"Well, my friends won't be needing me for a little while. Would you mind showing me around a bit?" the girl asked, eyes glittering slightly.

Benji couldn't help but let his cheeks go ever-so-slightly pink. Why him? Out of all the people in Central, why did she want him as a personal escort? He glanced back at her and mumbled quietly, "Yeah, I guess I can." The blonde smiled widely.

After Benji paid, they made their way into the street. "Well, uh, where do you want to go?"

The girl thought for a moment. "Well, why don't you show me the 'few special places' here?"

Benji panicked a bit, not that he showed it. "I don't think you'd really find them interesting... And they aren't really tourist attractions. Plus they're kind of personal favorites."

"So? According to your friend, we're on a date. Doesn't that mean that I should learn more about you? And what better way then for you to show me your favorite places?" The girl grinned, knowing that she had won. Benji sighed and lead the girl over to a certain shop. "A piano store?" she asked, obviously confused.

"Yup." The boy wished that he could take her to Alice's house, but unfortunately, it had been burned to the ground only days before. "There was somewhere else I wanted to take you, but...that isn't going to work out," he said sadly. Winry cocked her head to the side, watching Benji's fingers as they feathered up and down the black and white keys.

"...Can you play?"

He sent her a smirk before nodding briefly. The blonde smiled weakly, saying, "Um...Could I hear something?"

Benji obliged. His fingers gracefully glided over the piano keys. It was a song that the boy's father had often sang to him. It was a simple little tune that was soothing and slow. He closed his eyes and let the notes wash over him. Despite the song's originally cheery tune, Benji's rendition was deep and sorrowful.

Regardless of the song's tone, Winry clapped when the performance ended, smiling brightly. "Wow...That was beautiful, Benji. Who taught you?"

"Her name is Alice, and I care for her deeply. She's like my second mom, or an older sister or something..."

The girl shot him a confused look before saying, "Yeah, I guess I know what you mean." Her thoughts drifted to Ed and Al; her not-so-brotherly un-brothers. She shook her head slightly. "So, where to next?"

Benji frowned as he rose from the piano bench. He figured that he should pay his respects to his father sometime that day. "Well, I have to go somewhere today..." When Winry's face fell slightly, he quickly added, running a nervous hand through his dark hair, "But, uh, I guess you can come along... If you really want to..."

With a sigh, Benji thought that where he was going wasn't exactly romantic, or even moderately attractive. If anything, Winry was going to see a broken mess of a teenage boy; nothing less, and certainly nothing more.

"You probably won't be too enthralled with where I'm taking you..." Benji mumbled under his breath, but began walking anyway, with Winry close behind.

With a dark chuckle, Benji said, "You'll be the first girl I've ever taken to meet my dad, Winry."

They walked for a while, saying very little. It wasn't long before they stood before a headstone among a sea of them. All were lined up in perfect, uniform rows, like soldiers marching into battle. This both disgusted and made perfect sense to Benji. Sure, it probably conserved space. But it also left the soldiers forever in marching formation. They thought they escaped the military by dying. But, in reality, they only escaped their physical pain and worldly thought.

"So, um, Winry... This is my dad," Benji said quietly, gesturing towards the headstone that read, "Major Demetri Jeck."

Winry's eyes widened before she bowed slightly. "Hello, Mr. Jeck," she said quietly with a tiny smile. "Military, huh...?" Panic flickered in the blonde's heart, and briefly the deceased's name was Elric, rather than Jeck.

Benji smiled sadly as Winry's expression slowly fell. "He's been gone a long time. I hardly even feel it anymore..." His voice trailed off as Benji Jeck told the lie he'd been trying to convince himself of for many a year.

"Both my parents are dead, Benji. I'll never ever get over that." Winry's words were cold, as if she were steeling herself to handle the pain.

All Benji could manage was an almost inaudible, "Oh."

Winry looked around briefly before quietly saying, "I'll be back."

When Winry was out of earshot, Benji knelt down as if to see his father eye-to-eye. He sighed.

"Hey, Dad. I know that I haven't been by since Mom forced me to come five years ago. I just..." He sighed again, trying to find the words. "I don't know what to say, really. Mom seems to be getting along a bit better. She doesn't cry as much anymore, but she still stares off into the distance a lot. It's as if she's still waiting for you to come home. I still play piano. I know that you wanted a soldier for a son, but you got a musician. Sorry, but it's the only thing that keeps me from breaking." Benji heard soft footsteps behind him. "I must look awfully foolish, talking to a grave," he said quietly, not bothering to turn. Winry laid a single white lily in front of the headstone.

"No. Not at all." Benji smiled sadly as the girl placed the flower there.

"Winry, you're the only thing good that has ever come of me knowing Liz."

Winry didn't respond, apparently lost in things long ago. Benji's father was near the back of the cemetery, a long walk from the entrance. "So... Military, huh?" Winry repeated, and Benji nodded. "My parents were doctors in Ishbal." Benji waited for more of the story, but Winry stopped, unwilling to say any more.

Benji gulped. "You don't know how they died, do you?" The girl shook her head sadly. "I don't know what happened to my dad, either. According to the military, 'What happens in Ishbal stays in Ishbal'..." When the girl didn't say anything, he sighed and looked down at the ground. "Sorry. I'm not really good with people."

Winry smiled sweetly. "It's alright. Um, by the way, could you direct me to this hospital?" She handed him a slip of paper with the hospital's name written on it. "My friends are there, and I should probably get there soon..."

"Yeah. We aren't far. I'll just walk you there." Winry shot him a radiant smile, one Benji couldn't help responding with one of his own. It was a five minute walk, tops, but Benji decided to take the long way. When Winry began walking in, Benji gave a slight bow before turning away. He was stopped by a hand on his wrist, with the blonde grinning brightly at him.

"Come on, silly. You've got to meet Ed and Al." She winked before pulling Benji up with her, utilizing surprising strength.

The short boy in the hospital bed looked up to find his automail mechanic. "Jeez, Winry! It's about time you got here! I thought I'd have to fix my arm myself!" He then noticed the tall boy behind her and his expression darkened.

"Who is _that_?"

Ed! Look at what you did to my beautiful handiwork!" the girl seemed to melt into a pile of wailing mush.

"Uh, hi. I'm Benji Jeck." He bowed his head in place of an actual bow.

"I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. So, Jeck, what's your relationship with Winry?"

Benji cocked an eyebrow at the use of his last name in place of his first. "Relationship?" Cockiness crept into the boy's voice. "I bought her lunch and she met my dad today. Make of that what you will."

Ed sent a questioning look in the direction of the girl, who was practically crying over the treatment of her handiwork. "Winry! Winry! Who is he?"

"Just like he said, idiot! He bought me lunch because you were stupid enough to get landed in the hospital so you couldn't buy it for me! Don't talk to me that way, Edward Elric! I don't care if you're part of the military, you still need me if you want your limbs back!"

Ed fell silent in fear. "Hello, Winry. I heard you yelling from the hallway." A suit of armor walked in and stood by the hospital bed.

"Hey, Al. Benji, this is Alphonse, Ed's little brother," the girl explained as she got our her tools and began to work.

"It's nice to meet you," Al bowed slightly and Benji returned the favor. "It's good to see that Winry has made friends here in Central."

"Yeah. We sort of fell head over heels into each other..." What Benji said wasn't a lie, but he really just wanted to get under the short boy's skin.

"Tell me, Jeck," Edward began with an irritated expression on his face, "do you have any blood ties to one morally-bankrupt Colonel Roy Mustang? Because you two seem to have a lot in common."

Benji grew rigid. "I have no relation to, nor am I at all like that man. Unlike him, I take care of my chosen girl." His mind reverted back to the times Roy had made Alice cry and he clenched his fists slightly

Blinking once, Ed shook his head in disbelief. "You actually know him? Honestly, it was an empty insult. Regardless..." The blonde boy's head whipped around, lighting upon the young woman who was still tenderly handling her precious metal equipment. "What the hell? Who in the name of goddamned Christ are you?"

"Told you. Benji Jeck. Moderately attractive. Pianist." Benji leaned up against the door frame, an overconfident grin on his face, certain that the other person couldn't leave the hospital bed. Winry rolled her eyes.

"Frankly, Ed, I've only known him a few hours, and he's been a lot nicer to me than you _ever_ have in all the years I've known you." Winry's words weren't said with malice; they were more matter of fact, than anything.

"What can I say, Miss Rockbell? I fell hard..." Benji lightly put a hand to his heart, and as Winry turned to him with a questioning look, the dark-haired boy winked suggestively.

A small smiled formed on the girl's lips as she turned back to Ed's arm. "And I'm also sure that Benji would take better care of my automail!" the girl said as she began tinkering with the arm.

Ed glared. "Well, of course he would. It's not like pianists actually do anything worthwhile that would make it break."

Benji's expression grew dark and his voice became more arrogant. "On the contrary, Elric. Though I may not be an alchemist, I am a military man's son. I've been doing fitness regiments since I could walk. And my father specialized in hand-to-hand combat. Those skills, he passed onto me. And might I add that though we may seem weak and sensitive; pianists are fierce lovers." He sent another wink Winry's way, which made her blush slightly before rolling her eyes.

"Say, Benji, why don't we go into the hallway so Winry can concentrate?" Al interjected nervously. Benji nodded and followed the suit of armor into the hall.

"So, are you a State Alchemist too?" Benji asked quietly.

"Oh, no. I'm an alchemist, but Brother's the one who got State certification." An awkward pause ensued. Al was far more subdued than his brother, something which Benji was both disappointed and thankful for. Despite the intimidating suit of armor he wore, the boy, er, man, er, whatever he was, Al exuded a far less mature aura than that of his brother. Perhaps, despite his size, Ed was the older brother?

For once, Benji was the one to break a silence. "Winry and I haven't done anything. I just wanted to get under your brother's skin." An airy laugh came from the large suit of armor beside Benji. It was almost funny, he thought; the suit sounded like a little kid was inside it, even though the figure dwarfed Benji by quite a few inches - no small feat.

"I know, although it's funny that Winry didn't stop you from saying anything. She's been our best friend since a moment after she was born."

Al's voice trailed off, some kind of pain or emotion that Benji didn't recognize hidden behind his words. He thought of asking the other what was wrong, but just as he opened his mouth, Winry came bursting through the door, grabbing Benji by the sleeve and saying, "Al, your brother's an idiot!"

They had just exited the hospital when Benji finally regained control of his feet, and it was then that he felt Winry begin shaking with sobs. Benji's eyes narrowed, and briefly he considered running back into the hospital and laying into the blonde boy who was still in a bed. Then, however, Winry stared straight into his eyes, and said desperately, "They're just so _stupid!_"

And so there, on the steps in front of the hospital, Winry Rockbell cried as Benji Jeck awkwardly put his arms around her, trying wholly to comfort her without really knowing how. Because, frankly, when she cried, Winry reminded the boy far too much of his mother.

"Um, uh, everything's gonna be alright."

The girl laughed and sobbed at the same time. "You don't even know, Benji. You don't know how reckless those two are! You don't understand to what lengths they'll go to to get what they want! They're going to wind up dead!"

Benji didn't know what to say to all that. He stared off into the distance for a moment. "We're all going to wind up dead, Winry. We're going to be planted under a rock that has our name on it somewhere. And people we knew will come to it until they're planted under their own rock. It's how things work. So even if they do wind up dead, at least it will be in pursuit of whatever it was that they wanted. I realize that I've known them for only a few minutes, but I think they would be happier to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all..." The girl stared up at him with a strange look on her face. "I'm sorry, I've just been thinking about that since we went to see my dad. He thought he could make things better by being in the military. I don't know if he did or not, but he died trying."

With that, Winry re-entered the hospital alone. Benji didn't know if they reconciled, but when she came out of the building there was a smile on her face. And when she got on the train, to head back home, she even let him give her a kiss on the forehead goodbye.

"Goodbye, Winry. Find me the next time you're in Central, okay?" The girl nodded as the train began to pull out of the station.

_It was several years after she had met that boy in Central. Winry went out to her parents' graves to pay her respects. In front of her parents' headstones rested a single white lily. "Benji..." the name escaped from her lips before she even realized the memory. At the edge of the graveyard, behind a tree, stood Benji Jeck._

_"I'm just returning the favor. That's what Dad would have wanted me to do." With that, the man turned and went back to the train station. His commanding officers would be beyond upset if he missed the train. Benji joined the sea of military blue at the station. The boy sighed. Just another ordinary day in the life of Benji Jeck ...How very exciting._


	20. I've Got A Feeling

**A/N:** Hello, my dear, dear readers! I have just returned from play practice and fun was had by all. We would have published this a day or two ago, but the chapter would've taken FOREVER to write, so we're splitting it in two. ^^ I sorta kinda like this chapter. We're back into the RoyXAlice dynamic again, which I'm sure you're all super-excited for. Hell, I was pretty excited myself. I know how you all missed our lovely couple... *sigh* I'm tired. I think I'll play some Zelda: Spirit Tracks... But anyway!

Oh yeah, Lex and I wanted to know if you guys want an extremely lemon-scented scene sometime relatively soon. We would write a lemon...but we figure that inexperienced people should not write such things... XP So if you want some lemon-scented (still rated Teen, of course), just let us know...and stuff...yeah.

**Thanks to our ever-so awesome reviewers: **Requiem (Well...I think you'll have to share him with all the other Benji fangirls... *cough* including me *cough*. ^^), chocolvr (Chocolvr! *tackleglomprapehug* I angle 3 Benji as well! Though it seems that Requiem wants to take him away from us. ;)), Lady Skorpio (As it turns out, you won't get to see Jean's evil plan this chapter either [if one even exists] XP And nobody knows what happens with Benji and Winry. We'll leave that to your imagination...), luvinkiri (Hi! Hey! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lissa and Lex isn't here right now. Thanks for reviewing! And who does homework when there are pretty Bittersweet chapters out for your enjoyment? :D), Evalyd Yamazaki (Thank you! I think you're the only one who really caught the whole thing with Benji joining the military! I worked hard on that part and I'm so glad that someone noticed! *eyes welling with joyful tears* I felt it was necessary for Benji to join up. It makes him a deeper character for it. And also, military men in Fullmetal Alchemist-land are sexy. :P)

***Looks around* Has anyone seen Charlie?**

**Random Bittersweet Fact #6: **Last chapter, Lex and I were concerned about our darling Benji. It seems that when he's trying to win over a girl, he acts more and more like Roy... O.o

**Disclaimer: We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, then we wouldn't have had to write a fanfiction that has just reached its 20th chapter. Yay! ^^**

* * *

Alice woke with the sun, her sleep schedule seemingly coming back into regular time. Roy had just woke himself, and she saw him button the left cuff on his uniform before he realized she was awake. With a soft smirk, the man came over and kissed the dark redhead on the cheek before saying, "I'm off for the day. Find some way to entertain yourself; maybe call Charlotte or something. I bet she can keep you busy, somehow, while I'm not here."

She nodded, and he left out the door without another word.

It was about an hour or so later a knock came on Roy Mustang's front door, and Alice froze. Should she answer? After all, this wasn't her house... but, well, she did live here now, if only as a temporary arrangement.

Finally, the small woman opened the door, revealing Charlotte with her two children in tow. The elder Ackerman had a wide grin on her face, saying something the lines of, "Wow, your boyfriend has a nice place, Alice."

Charlotte took a step in without asking for permission, and then said, "You're going to watch the kids for today, Aunty Alice, even though Uncle Roy's at work. Mommy needs a day to herself, right kids?"

The little girl nodded, and Alice took Luke in her arms with a sigh. There was no point in trying to talk Charlotte out of it if she had already made up her mind, no matter if this wasn't even Alice's real place of residence.

"Um, Charlotte, where's Alister and Roya?" Alice asked with a very concerned look on her face.

"Oh, they're in the car with Brent. We're taking them to his parents' house so I may rest for a day. Oh, the woes of being the mother of four children under the age of five!" Charlotte winked and yelled before walking out the door, "Be good, kids! And Alice, no fornicating in front of my children!"

Alice just stared at the closed door before her niece tugged on her skirt, catching her attention. "Aunty Alice, what's a fornicating?"

The woman sighed, "Didn't Uncle Roy tell you that that was a top military secret, Bri?"

"Oh yeah...I forgot. Luke! Let go of Miss Dolly! Don't chew on her head! Aunty Alice!"

For not the first time in her life, Alice was very thankful that she didn't have any little blessings that were called "children". Sure, they were cute and cuddly. But they also were messy and not to mention, an extreme fire hazard. "Mommy said that your house burnt down," her niece continued, "so you're living with Uncle Roy until he starts acting like a meanie. And Daddy said that you should just stay here forever because you'll marry Uncle Roy anyway. Mommy agreed and then she told me to stop ears-dropping. But I wasn't dropping ears, I was just listening to them talk when they thought I was in bed."

Alice sighed quietly, hoisting Luke higher on her hip and saying, "Bri, honey, that _is_ eavesdropping." The boy began wailing loudly at the movement, and Brianna toyed with her doll's hair for a moment before lighting up.

"Oh! Mommy said that you'd make us food! Luke hasn't eaten yet. He's starving. Honestly, I'm a little hungry too, Aunty." The sweet smile on Brianna's face didn't hide the fact that she was still an evil child (as all children were), but with a sigh, once more, Alice turned and entered the kitchen, praying Roy had something edible within that didn't require any cooking or touching of the stove.

It was going to be a long day. Of that much, Alice was very certain. This notion was accented by Luke's continuing cries and Brianna's yelling to shut him up. The pianist didn't _dislike _kids… but it was days like these that made her consider never reproducing at all.

After a long day at work, Roy Mustang came home, and as he stepped onto his doorstep he allowed himself a small smile. A quiet night, with Alice to keep him company; that sounded promising, if not perfect. With that blissful thought in mind, the man swung open the door to his home, only to feel a small parasite attach itself to his knees.

"Uncle Roy!" Brianna came up only barely below his waist, but had grabbed him with such force and with the element of surprise on her side that he had to take a step back. He shot the girl a nervous smile, all the while wondering, _What the hell is Charlotte's child doing here? _

And then he saw Alice, Luke on her hip in the position he had been in all day. It took all Roy had in him not to laugh when he saw her, hair frazzled from the obviously stressful day she had had. She mouthed a single word to him, "Sorry," before actually shrugging and saying, "Charlotte. What are you going to do?"

Roy only shook his head and allowed himself a small smile as he hung his military jacket by the door. "So," he began as he sat down on the couch, "when exactly is Charlotte coming back; if ever?"

"Ummm… I'm not really sure…" Alice mused for a moment before sighing. "Charlotte dropped them off this morning."

"Aunty Alice! Aunty Alice! I'm hungry!" Brianna complained, tugging on her aunt's dress.

"Quiet, Bri. I'm talking to Roy," she scolded quietly as she sighed.

Roy smirked. "I'll take care of it. Just sit for a bit, my dear Alice." He took Luke from her arms and set him up on the ground. Luke latched onto the Flame Alchemist's finger as Brianna took his other hand. _This parenting thing isn't too hard. If Hughes could see me now! Roy Mustang: The Flame Alchemist, the ultimate father! _

However, Roy Mustang, the ultimate father, was also an epic failure at cooking grilled cheese. In fact, the one who did most of the work in the end was Brianna, due to a small mistake and burning the first sandwich he put on the stove.

Roy was lectured endlessly by the small girl about how _easy it was_ to make a grilled cheese sandwich, I can't _believe_ you did it wrong –

Suddenly Roy knew _exactly _why Alice looked the way she did when he had walked in the door. Kids were ridiculously difficult to please. However, as the food was distributed, the children were silenced and the room fell quiet. Alice let out a visible sigh of relief, biting into the product of Brianna's labors gladly.

"Are they good, Aunty? I worked reeaaaallly hard!" Brianna looked innocently to Roy, and the man had to fight off sending a look of contempt her way.

Alice chuckled at the exchange between the two, and said, "Yes, Bri. They're delicious. You and Roy did wonderfully."

"Uncle Roy didn't even butter the first one! I told him it would burn, but he said that it'd be fine…"

Luke gurgled as he munched on his crusts.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Charlotte came in, said some embarrassing things and left with her children in tow. "You may now fornicate freely! Be safe, kids!" Charlotte winked as she went out the door.

Alice just stared off in the direction from where her sister had just appeared and disappeared. The woman sighed. Why did she get stuck with such an embarrassing sister? She turned to find Roy staring back at her, an over-confident smirk on his face. "Um… Roy? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The man took the plate from her and sat it on the coffee table. He sat closer to her, never breaking his gaze. "Well, now that we have your sister's blessing…" The woman opened her mouth to protest, but Roy's lips collided with hers.

That kiss made Alice nearly forget that the man next to her was the Flame Alchemist. "R-Roy? Wh-What?"

He smirked at her surprised face. "I don't think this is the time or place for you to complain, my Alice." And with that, he swept her up in his arms and took her into his bedroom.

* * *

Somewhere, on the other side of Central, Benji Jeck looked up suddenly from his supper. Something, somewhere, was wrong. He just couldn't place what it was… The boy shrugged and turned back to his soup. 


	21. Birthday

**A/N: **Hola! Haven't seen you guys in a while! Sorry it's been so long, things got busy with the play and school and Spell Bowl (of which we got dragged into. Our team sucked. .) I realize that these aren't fantastic excuses. But they are real and obnoxious and make me want to kill small junior high schoolers who think they're cool and can goof off in practice... I digress. At any rate, we made this chapter especially long and rather fluffy to make up for the delay. On a sad/happy, (or bittersweet rather,) note, Lex and I figure that this series will be completed within the next 2 to 4 chapters. It was supposed to be 2 to 3, but it would make me mad to end it at chapter 24... So we may add another filler, just for your enjoyment. :D Lex knows nothing of this. SURPRISE! So, um, what kind of things do you want to happen before this ends? Because we actually only have like two more plot points left, but we'd like to drag it out because we don't want it to end all that much. :'( So! What do you want to see? What do you want to hear? Let us know! Because we can't exactly read your minds... Yes, well, yeah.

**Special thanks to all those who reviewed:** xXSweetestXAngelXNightmareXx (I personally think that under the word suave in the dictionary, there should be only: Roy Mustang, and a picture. :D), Evalyd Yamazaki (Due to my and Lex's obvious inexperience, we aren't writing a lemon, but alluding to the idea of it. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. It's all up to you! ;]), Lady Skorpio (I do find this chapter mighty great. It may not have come as soon as you hoped, but it's still here!), Cecile (It's okay! It didn't really end there! You may fangirl squee to your heart's content! There is much mention of fornication everywhere in this story. It's among our favorite words, along with coitus and Czechoslovakia. ^^)

**I have reason to believe that some of our reviewers have perished during the grueling battle of waiting for our next chapter. Or at least went missing. So I salute you, both those who have fallen and those MIAs. We hope for your safe return. ;)**

**Also, everyone should wear purple on Wednesday, that's the 20th, for gay rights. Because everyone deserves the love that Roy and Alice have. I think that should totally be the tag line for gay rights. Only you guys would get it, but still... ^^**

**Okay, last one. Do we have any guys reading this? I'm just really curious... I'd really like to see more guys get into fanfiction.**

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. We just don't. I wish we did. But unfortunately, I can't draw that well and we couldn't come up with that idea in a million years. Yeah. So, read on!**  
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* * *

Roy walked into his office a bit later than usual the following morning. He sat down at his desk and immediately began signing the pile of papers there. His team refrained from gasping in surprise.

"Say, Colonel, you seem to be in a good mood," Jean began, taking a drag from his cigarette. Roy only smirked in response. "Is there any particular reason, Chief?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business, Havoc." The soldiers' eyebrows all rose in unison.

A sort of silence fell over the office, with Fuery shooting the occasional awkward glance in the direction of the colonel. Finally, after an _especially _long drag on his cigarette, Havoc said, "So, Colonel...How was your night with Alice?"

The air went cold, until a smirk from Roy lightened it.

"Well, Havoc, though you should really keep your nose out of my affairs, I suppose I can tell you; we had a meaningful and transcendental conversation...and then we made out." The black-haired man winked, as if to say, 'Among other things...'

Jean smiled knowingly before dropping his cigarette. "What? Did you deflower my dear sister! What is _wrong _with you? My poor, poor Alice..."

"It's none of your business, anyway. And I hate to break it to you, Havoc, but Alice _isn't _your _sister_."

"Lies!" Havoc blubbered. Roy hadn't seen him this upset since he had stolen the lieutenant's last girlfriend...

Riza sighed and glared up at the two men arguing. "With all due respect, Sir, perhaps you two should take this argument outside?"

The men obliged, bickering all the way out the door.

Once they were out of the confined space, Fuery walked over to Riza's desk. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, sir?"

The woman replied without even looking up, "What is it, Fuery?"

"Sir, what does 'deflowered' mean?" Breda and Falman chuckled in the background.

"...Fuery," the woman sighed deeply, "get a girlfriend."

* * *

Benji Jeck was wandering around, doing some shopping before heading home. It was through him that Roy and Jean found safety in their choices.

"Hey, that's Alice's piano kid." As the colonel spoke, Havoc looked in the direction that he was pointing.

"So, like...he knows shit?" Havoc asked bluntly, and Roy nodded in silent agreement before shouting out in the boy's general direction.

"Hey! Kid! Jeck, right?" Benji's head whipped around at the use of his surname, eyes lighting on the two men in military blue.

He cocked an eyebrow as the men laid out their plan before smiling slightly.

Before he could protest, Benji became apart of the military men's quest. They went store to store until Benji affirmed that Roy's choice was, indeed, perfect. "Colonel? Can I go home now?" the boy asked somewhat nervously.

"Huh? Yeah, sure." The boy rose before Roy placed a hand on his shoulder, making him turn. "Thanks, kid. I owe you one." Benji smiled slightly as he left the shop.

"Well, Havoc?" the colonel nudged his underling. "Aren't you going to pay the man?"

"What? Me? No way!"

"We had a bet, didn't we?" Roy smirked evilly.

"But, Colonel!"

The colonel's expression grew dark. "Havoc, if you don't pay, I will be forced to demote you. Then I'll burn you, cut out your entrails, and burn them, too. Do I make myself clear, Havoc?"

Havoc's cigarette drooped, and with a terrible sigh, he handed over all money on his person, barely having enough to even the exchange. At the very least, though, his debt to the man was settled; not to mention, Jean Havoc was certain that Alice would like what was bought. Or at least, that's what Benji had said.

"So what are _you_ going to get her, Havoc?" Roy asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets lazily.

"WHAT? I just bought her _that_ thing!" he yelled, pointing back at the store they had just exited, indicating the newly-purchased merchandise inside.

"I believe that you used _my_ money for that."

"But, Colonel! Can't we say it's from both of us?" The lieutenant's eyes lit up with hope.

The man stopped and turned to face his underling; a thoughtful glint in his eyes raised Jean's hope further. "Don't be ridiculous, Havoc."

"I'm not being ridiculous, I'm being _reasonable_, " Havoc muttered under his breath before deciding that a few cheap pieces of sheet music would have to suffice. Surely Alice would understand when he explained what a tyrant her boyfriend was-

"And don't think of breathing a word of this to my dearest Alice, Havoc; or your entrails will burn."

Havoc's face fell and he grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets as the tow returned to headquarters.

* * *

It was around 4:30 in the afternoon when the telephone rang. Alice looked up abruptly from her book and stared at the telephone. This had never happened before. Was Alice allowed to answer the phone? She didn't know. No one had ever called during the day before. Everyone knew that Roy was at work. She bit her lip, pondering this as it rang again.

_Maybe they'll hang up._

_**Ring!**_

_It's probably just a wrong number..._

_**Ring!**_

_What if it's Roy?_

_**Ring!**_

_What if there's something wrong? What if he's hurt? Or dead?_

_**Ri-**_- Alice dove for the telephone before it could finish its chime.

"Is Roy okay? Where is he? What's his condition? Please tell me he's not dead!" Alice practically yelled into the mouthpiece.

There was a pause on the other ended of the line. "Hello to you, too."

Alice's cheeks turned red. "S-sorry."

Roy chuckled lightly. "Hey, could you go to the market? We're out of bread, cheese and all things edible. Just have them put it on my tab."

"Uh, of course. I can do that now."

"Good. Thanks, Alice." Roy put down the receiver and turned to Major Armstrong, the Strongarm Alchemist, with a glint in his eye. "Let's move."

* * *

Alice, feeling strange going to the market without money, set off with a mission. Not really knowing what to buy, Alice decided the best course of action would probably be to just browse. Suddenly, Alice realized, she didn't even know what Roy liked to eat. She was living with him, and it was utterly incomprehensible that she didn't know what her boyfriend's favorite food was. Alice almost sighed at her own incompetence, resigning herself to buy bread, cheese, and other things that nearly everyone liked to partake in.

* * *

The Flame and Strongarm Alchemists stealthily approached the former's home. Roy quickly unlocked the door and motioned for the major to stand down. He responded by attempting to hide his cargo and his own bulky frame behind a hedge. Roy swung the door open and looked around shiftily. "Alice? You here?" Silence. "Major! Bring it in! Move! Move! Move!"

As large a man as Alex Louis Armstrong was, he was still quite deft; he moved quickly and quietly into his superior's house, placing his cargo in the place he had been instructed to do so. Setting the thing down gently, Armstrong turned to his superior, giving a crisp salute. "That's all, Major. Thank you for your cooperation."

With a nod, and a slight bow, Armstrong left the house, and Roy Mustang gave a small smirk, staring at that which the Strongarm Alchemist had delivered into his home.

Alice's shopping duties had come to a close, and although her purchases had been few, she was altogether happy with the spoils of her labors. If Roy wanted anything more, she decided, that he should have been more precise when telling her to go out to the market.

Roy quickly showered and changed into a crisp white shirt and black pants. Now, all he had to do was wait... But Roy _hated_ waiting. He decided that a quick walk around the block would waste some time, while still leaving him plenty left before Alice returned. Little did he know that he would not be returning empty-handed.

Alice walked slowly up to the door of Roy's home. Only one light was on in the whole house. Roy was home. Alice turned the handle and walked inside. "Roy, I'm back," she called out into the darkness. When there was no response she called out, "Roy? Roy, are you here?" She set her bags down in the kitchen before walking into the only lit room in the house. Alice's jaw dropped as soon as her eyes lit upon the contents of the den.

Roy smiled, holding up two glasses of red wine. "Happy birthday, my dear Alice."

"H-how did you know?"

"I have my sources."

"Roy, why? Why did you spend so much money? On _me_? You bought me the most beautiful piano I've ever _seen_! Why did you do that?"

Roy frowned slightly. "You don't like it."

"No, no, it's the best gift I've been given. I just don't understand why you'd spend all that money on me," she explained, eyes starting to get moist from the dark-haired man's gesture.

"Why? Because it's not every day that my Alice turns twenty-four. And this is the only gift that I knew you would love."

Alice smiled, blushing slightly. She walked up to the alchemist and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Roy. So much."

Roy smiled as he kissed her on the lips. "That's not all I have for you." He picked up a small box that was sitting on the piano bench.

The box meowed at the sudden movement.

"Roy, I don't want a new cat..." Alice said sadly, remembering Staccato.

The man just pushed the box into the pianist's hands and winked. Alice sighed as she opened the box's lid. "Staccato!" The once orange and fluffy cat was now merely a few tufts of grey-orange fur sticking out from pinked skin. "He's alive! Where did you find him?"

"Once again, I have my sources." Actually, it was pure coincidence that he found the cat on his walk around the block. The pathetic thing was sleeping in a vegetable crate next to a pigeon. The cat had grown thin on its own, spoiled by Alice's care. Regardless, at the sight of Roy, the kitten's ears had perked up and he had jumped to his paws, tail waving weakly but clearly. A joyful mew was heard as Roy picked Staccato up, bringing him home to his owner.

The cat continued purring, and Alice squealed in delight. Setting Staccato down on the ground, Alice threw her arms around Roy's neck, just in time for his front door to come bursting open, a blonde woman with a gun at the ready heading the charge.

"What the _HELL?"_ Alice let out a scream that was muffled by Roy's shoulder. The blonde woman stood agape, never lowering her pistol.

"Lt. Havoc told me you were in danger, Sir," she said, eying Alice. Riza couldn't believe that the tiny woman encased in her superior's arms was a threat.

Suddenly a group of people burst through the door. "ALICE!"

Havoc and Ivy wrenched the pianist out of Roy's arms and proceeded to practically suffocate her with their embrace.

"Hawkeye, at ease, dammit! And you two unhand her immediately!" All obeyed, and Alice was repositioned back at Roy's side in a matter of seconds. "Now, why the hell are you here?"

It was then that Maes Hughes made his entrance, carrying a large be-candled cake. "Happy birthday, Mrs. Mustang-to-be!" he sang out. Alice's eyes widened and she gripped the back of Roy's shirt tightly. Roy didn't notice until he took a second look at the cake. Candles. Fire. Alice.

Before he could think about it, Roy pulled on his ignition cloth glove. "If you don't blow out those candles, I'll burn yo -" he felt the grip on his back disappear. "But... that would be counter productive."

As Roy's tense body relaxed, Alice took a soft step forward, only to be met by Havoc sweeping her up in a hug. "Happy birthday, sis." As Alice's feet returned to the ground, she waved shyly at the men and women who'd come to wish her well. With Maes blowing out the candles, Alice relaxed, and Jean said, "And here they are. Amestris's finest."

Alice smiled slightly wider before dipping her head and quietly saying, "Lovely to meet you. I'm Alice Ackerman."

"What the hell are you merry band of idiots doing in my house?" Roy reiterated.

"Why, wishing my darling sister a happy birthday of course, Chief."

Jean smirked. "Well, why don't I introduce everyone? Alice, this is Lt. Hawkeye, Fuery, Falman, Breda, Major Armstrong, Ed, Al, and you've met Lt. Col. Hughes," Havoc smiled, pulling out a cigarette.

Roy whispered menacingly in his ear, "Don't you dare," before giving Alice a comforting wink.

"Alice Ackerman! How good it is to finally meet you!" Alice looked up to find a massive man lumbering towards her. She didn't have time to scream before the man full-out glomped her.

A terrified squeal that was muffled by the muscle she was encased in escaped from Alice's lips. He pulled away, a radiant smile coming from him and releasing Alice, saying, "I'm Major Alex Louis Armstrong. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, the beautiful significant other of a superior officer." Alice blushed bright red as Roy smirked at Armstrong's words.

"That's enough, Major. Don't frighten her off. God knows if she wasn't here we wouldn't have a reason to have a party anyway. Whose bright idea was it to have this party anyhow, _Havoc?"_ Roy sent a slightly accusing look the lieutenant's way, and the blonde shrugged as if to say, '_Who, me?'_

"Thank you all for this, but... you really didn't have to." Alice had reverted back to the shy girl of a few weeks ago, a side effect from having such a large amount of unknown people in her presence. "I mean, it's not that big a deal or anything..."

"I really don't see why I have to come visit Colonel Jackass's lady friend anyway," the blonde boy, Ed, if Alice remembered correctly. She flushed brightly.

"S-sorry for the inconvenience..." she barely managed to whisper."I mean, I don't want to be a bother or anything."

"Brother! That was mean!" The taller, armor-encased one said. "I apologize for my brother's behavior. He never learned his manners."

"Shut up, Al! It's your fault we're here anyway! You got kidnapped by the Major and I had to save you!"

"Edward, keep your voice down," Hawkeye warned, softly smiling at Alice. Riza would be very overwhelmed if it was she in Alice's position.

"Yes, sir..." the boy replied, pouting.

The night wore on. Wine and cake was distributed to the guests. And, much to Roy's amusement, Alice was latched onto the colonel's arm all night for fear that Armstrong would try to attack her again. Ivy, being Jean's date to begin with, slowly drifted towards Breda. And it seemed that the more intoxicated she became the more she openly flirted with the only redhead in the room. "Heymans, you know what? Redheads are _hot._" Breda merely smiled and thanked every higher power created for his odd hair color. As for the rest of the group, Havoc sulked and everyone else was socializing and having a good time.

There was a knock on the door, and in walked a certain black-haired boy. "Happy birthday, Miss A. My mom baked another pie for you..." he paused, "Why are _you _here?" Edward tensed.

"I could ask you the same thing, Jerk, right?"

"Actually, it's Jeck. I suggest you remember it for the next time we meet, Elric. Hey, Alphonse."

Benji sent a smirk Al's way before presenting Alice with his mother's baked good. Alice smiled brightly in response before giving the boy a kiss on the cheek. "You're far too kind, Benji. Send your mother my regards. I wish she would have come."

Benji shrugged in response. "She's not really one for this kind of event. Nonetheless, she sends her love."

With the pie cut, and a piece had by all, Alice settled into a seat comfortably, nearly ready to fall asleep. The most of the party was still very much alive, and Ivy leaned down to whisper in the auburn-haired woman's ears, "Better stay awake, honey. I'm sure you'll have a nice surprise, later, if you catch my drift."

Alice's eyes, which had been drooping, shot open, and she scrambled to her feet with a small squeal before absolutely hissing, "_Ivy!_"

With a wink and a slightly provocative hand gesture, Ivy flitted off, successfully making Jean even more jealous than he had been moments before as she said hello to Falman. With a sigh, Jean slunk over to Alice, saying, "Does she even like me?"

In a sudden display of compassion, Alice sighed. "It's just the way she is, Jean. She liked you as much as she said she did, because she's not a liar." And with a second thought she added, "It would also probably help if you had red hair..."

"That's what this is all about? My hair?"

"N-not completely, but Ivy's a bit...shallow when it comes to that kind of thing..." she said quietly.

"So you're saying that if I dye my hair, Ivy will like me again?"

"N-not really..."

Havoc paid her no mind. "Thanks, Alice! You're the best sister I've ever had!" And with that, he got up and got himself another piece of cake.

Alice shook her head and sighed as she leaned back into the comfy upholstery of the couch. It was only a few moments later that she drifted off... Alice awoke to warmth on her lips. Her eyes fluttered open to find Roy looking at her, a light smirk planted on his face. "Tired, my Alice?"

She nodded silently before quietly asking, "How long was I asleep?"

Roy sat down and put an arm around the woman. "You passed out about an hour ago. It took everything I had to keep Armstrong from attacking you."

Alice gave a sleepy, yet grateful smile. "Where is everyone?"

"I got rid of them. With Ivy all the while screaming about how we needed privacy to fornicate," the man replied with a slight chuckle. Alice sighed and turned pink. "So, my Alice, how was your birthday?"

Alice smiled slightly as Staccato jumped on her lap and purred. The pianist missed this after the fire claimed her house; just the simple act of relaxing on a couch with Staccato on her lap, Roy by her side, and a piano watching the scene unfold.

"It was certainly in the top twenty-four that I've had." A light chuckle fell from the pianist's lips before saying, "It was great, Roy. Really. I can't thank you enough." She leaned up to kiss him, and he gladly returned the favor.

"Don't thank me, my dear. Your brother was the one who planned all of this."

Alice blinked. "You didn't know?"

"Hadn't the foggiest." The man picked up the small woman, sitting down where Alice had been, with her still in his arms.

Alice blushed at the proximity, as she always did. A few select months prior, the pianist never would have imagined being in a situation such as this one. And with a gasp, Alice clenched her eyes shut, and said, with great fear, "...I love you."

She felt Roy inhale deeply, her back resting against his chest, and with a lingering kiss on her cheek he replied, "I love you, too, my Alice." He paused for a moment and smirked. "That being said..." He pulled the woman even closer, and almost to the point of being aggressive he kissed her feverishly. "We have privacy, a bed, and sisterly consent." He winked. Alice smiled slightly at the man's reasoning.

It really didn't make sense; their relationship. But the couple had _other_ things in mind for the moment...


	22. I'm Happy Just to Dance with You

***...We're disappointed in you all. I mean, yes, we've updated ungodly slow. But... was that worthy of no reviews? None? WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO UPSET YOU? WHAT IS IT? -flails- As a "punishment," (sort of) this chapter's ungodly short. And we should have Bittersweet wrapped up here in the next couple of chapters. I pray that, although it's not nearly as fun as last chapter, we get some feedback on this one. .  
**We don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Nope. Nada. Though Roy Mustang's waiting for me upstairs, so I should probably go, but not before I mention -**

**Random Bittersweet Fact: This chapter? We didn't want to write it. We thought about just skipping to the last chapter (or at least I, Lex, did). Meh. Enjoy.  
**

* * *

This, to say the least, felt very odd to Alice. The floor-length dress was hindering her ability to walk, not to mention the heels that made her feel like her height was skyrocketing. Thankfully, Roy had a steady arm, and his presence made her capable of walking without too much difficulty.

The military ball was an annual affair, one that was memorable for many a woman and man. Alice was just nervous, despite the abundance of people she knew. Fuery, Breda, Falman, Hawkeye, not to mention her darling brother Jean Havoc, and her boyfriend Roy Mustang.

"R-Roy..." Alice stuttered nervously, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The black-haired man's eyebrows rose, and he sent a grin her way. "Of course. And I would be thoroughly delighted if I could have this dance." He didn't wait for her response, only grabbing her hand and pulling her to the floor. Tighter to his body than she'd ever been in public, Alice blushed bright red, and Roy smirked. "All this time, and I still make you nervous?"

"O-only a little..." Alice mumbled quietly, and Roy laughed but didn't respond, moving his lover with the music as she was certainly not going to be the one doing the leading.

Alice had never really danced before, nor had she been to such a formal affair. Luckily for her, Roy was good on his feet. Luckily for Roy, Alice was able to fall in with the tempo before his toes were trodden upon. Once the song ended and the couple were on the way to their seats, Alice was attacked from behind.

"Alice! You were _so cute_ out there with your sexy colonel! I didn't know you could dance! And that dress! So _expensive-looking_! Did Colonel Sexy buy that for you? I'm surprised you let him buy you something that cost so much!"

"Ivy, what are you _doing _here?" Alice asked patiently, peeling her neighbor off of her.

"Oh, Lieutenant Carrot-Head brought me here."

Before Alice could ask who Lieutenant Carrot-Head was, she was distracted by a rumbling chuckle from Roy. "Havoc, what the hell happened to your head? Did an army of oranges attack you in your sleep?"

Alice looked up to see 2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc in a nicely tailored black tux, shiny black shoes, and with hair dyed the color of baby carrots. "Oh my god, Jean. What happened?" she gasped, mentally suppressing a giggle. He looked ridiculous.

"I was just following your advice, Sis," he replied with obvious shame.

"What advice? I don't recall telling you to stick your head in a pumpkin." Jean hung his head in shame.

In the hustle and bustle that ensued, Jean whispered, "You said she liked redheads..." And at the defeated tone his voice took on, Alice's heart almost broke.

"Oh, Jean..." The girl, green dress shimmering, wrapped her arms around her 'brother,' trying her hardest not to laugh. "I didn't mean..."

"Yeah, I know," Jean cut in, interrupting her in the middle of a sentence. "I just, I like her a lot. And I wanted to have all the advantages I could..." He, in turn, was interrupted by Ivy pulling at his arm, trying to get his attention.

"Jean, come on! I want to dance!"

Roy and Alice watched the retreating backs of the couple, the latter sighing sadly, and the former barely able to control his laughter. "I don't know what he was thinking, honestly, my Alice. Do you think I'd look better as a redhead?"

Alice shot him a glare. "Hell no. Don't _even_ think about it."

"No, no, my dear, I wouldn't dare." It always gave Roy great amusement to get a rise out of Alice; hearing her swear was just a bonus. The sweet woman rarely did so, and it gave him joy every time, for the fact that she was so difficult to frustrate. "So, my darling Alice, would you care to dance with me?" He didn't even wait for her response pulling her closer and dragging her to the dance floor. Alice again blushed at their close proximity. "No matter what, we have to outdo Lieutenant Carrot-Head and Ivy." Alice was under the impression that he was only talking about the dancing. But she found that she was mistaken when Roy leaned down and attacked her lips in a heated kiss that really shouldn't have taken place at such a public event. "In _every_ aspect of the night." He winked and his lover turned crimson once again.

Despite Jean Havoc's outrageous hair, he had still managed to get somewhat close with Alice's slightly slutty, neighboring counterpart.


	23. Come and Get It

**A/N: **...so this has been written for like two months. And we haven't updated because... we're sorta dumb... andweforgotwewroteit. :/ There's not a lot here, because it's a filler chapter, but... with luck, another chapter will be out tonight? Maybe two? If you love us? BECAUSE WE CRAVE YOUR APPROVAL, DAMN IT. Or your reviews. Reviews work just as well. :)

**Special thanks to our reviewers: Lady Skorpio** (We are so very, very glad that you enjoyed it. This one has many funnies in it as well.) **And chocolvr69** (We missed you too! We won't tell you the ending, but your *hint hint* may or may not be on the right track... I'm not going to tell you. Because I'm mean. Yes. XD)

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist? 'Ent ours. We've been gone a long time, but not long enough for you to forget that, right?

* * *

Jean Havoc walked into the office the next Monday with a large grin plastered on his face. Roy shot the now-redhead a questioning look. "I, Jean Havoc, got laid," he announced proudly with a stupid grin. Falman, Breda, and Fuery clapped in awe as Havoc struck a pose.

Roy smirked as he put down his newspaper. "No way; so did I...six times." His team clapped more vigorously as Havoc tried not to weep. Roy sniggered. "Sorry. Didn't mean to rain on your parade or anything. I just was trying to make conversation."

Jean Havoc's ego shattered successfully, Roy leaned back in his chair, feet resting on his desk. A disapproving sigh from Riza was the only reprimand he received, and Roy chuckled appreciatively before closing his eyes and proceeding not to do any of the paperwork that was waiting for him. He thought back to only two nights before, after he and Alice had made their way home, a smirk planted firmly on his face as he remembered every detail.

Her skin had been cool to the touch from the winter chill outdoors, and Roy had taken it upon himself to warm it up. Alice didn't resist. Though, he thought with a smirk, she was usually the one who implied such things nowadays. It wasn't until Roy held his lover against his bare chest, slick with sweat, that he noticed that something was off. "What's wrong, my Alice? Was I just too good for you to handle this time?" he asked her quietly, the low vibration of his voice in her ear making her squirm slightly.

She closed her eyes as if trying to block something out. "No. I mean, yes. Erm...uh..." She searched for the right words. She wasn't planning on telling him this now, if ever. It just wasn't something that he should know; ever.

As she bit her lip in contemplation, Roy's eyes grew wide. "You don't mean...?"

"Huh?"

"You're...You're," he put his hand on Alice's bare stomach almost hesitantly. "I'm going to be a father..."

Alice's eyes got wide and she sat bolt upright, startling Roy. "WHAT?"

"Calm down, Alice. Remember the last time a pregnant woman got stressed?"

"What the hell? I'm not pregnant, Roy!"

He looked at her skeptically. "Right...And I'm not going to be fuhrer." She glared at him. "Fine, then what is it?"

"...nothing." Alice's eyes cut away. "Seriously. Don't worry about it." Roy's eyebrows raised, clearly suspicious of his lover's quietness, though he said nothing. Alice didn't really know what to say. "It's just, it's extremely difficult to do this when all I can think of is you with that ridiculous hair color that Jean has dyed his hair."

Roy's eyes widened. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying, if you ever dye your hair that carroty-orange, we're going to have a problem. I don't care if it gets Ivy to have sex with him; that terrible color will not get _you_laid."

Roy almost pouted. He wasn't going to dye his hair anytime soon, or at all if he could help it, but this statement still bothered him. "Are you saying that I'm only sexy if I have black hair, Alice?" he accused.

"What? It's not like that, exactly..."

"Then what _is _it like?" he demanded. Alice didn't understand why he was so upset about this. It was only two little sentences. Why was he behaving so callously towards her for two sentences.

"Roy, let's just face it, you couldn't pull off any other hair color. And I wouldn't want you to. All I'm saying is that I like your hair just the way it is." Roy was still annoyed as he flipped over so his back was to his girlfriend. "Roy," Alice pleaded, "Roy don't act like this. You're acting like a child." Roy responded by flipping back towards her only long enough to stick his tongue out at her. "Roy, darling," she cooed with just a speckle of sarcasm in her voice as she hugged him from behind, "You're not really mad, are you?"

Roy had to stop his eyes from widening. This was _not_ the shy piano teacher he knew. This was _not _what he had been expecting - not at _all_. And, quite frankly, he liked it. Needless to say, the game was back on.

"So, to sum things up, Havoc, I don't care if you got laid last night. I had plenty to keep me busy, and I've got much to think about myself, so you may as well get back to your menial duties while still trying to keep Ivy to yourself. Your _sister_," Roy flippantly laid on the sarcasm, "has been surprisingly good to me in ways that I hadn't even begun to imagine she could be." Roy had to chuckle at the look on his subordinates face, and he shrugged, even as Riza rolled her eyes.

"Don't you have paperwork to do, with all due respect, sir?" The blonde woman asked, sighing.

"Probably. Has that ever made me do it before, Lieutenant?"

Roy got home a bit later than usual that night, mostly because he still had yet to sign all the paperwork he had been assigned. He walked into his house to find Alice playing piano quietly. He hung up his coat before coming up behind the pianist. After all that time, he was still amazed by how the woman's thin fingers could manage to make such beautiful music.

He remembered fondly a few months before when Alice had tried to teach him how to play a song. As he suspected, he was horrible with the instrument. He kept hitting the wrong notes in the wrong places and would get frustrated. But somehow, Alice had stayed positive throughout the whole process; well, until Roy threatened to burn the piano to a crisp in his impatience. After that, Alice decided that the Flame Alchemist wasn't suited to play such an elegant instrument, lest it be charred the minute he made a mistake. She preferred keeping the piano intact to having a musically competent boyfriend, thanks.


	24. The End

**A/N: So, um, this is Lex. And I don't have much to say, because I'm sleepy. But we wrote. And you should be proud of us. Because we worked damn hard for you, ya know? **This is Liss, and this is me, saying something. Lex told me to. I dunno why. I'm sleepy. We're watching Criminal Minds and it's kinda awesome. Yeah. Well. Yeah. G'night, then.

**Disclaimer: **We do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If we did, that would be very, very bad...

* * *

Alice awoke early that spring morning. A part of her wondered why; she just had a feeling that it would be an important day. She pulled her chestnut-colored hair back, but little wisps still floated about her face. The woman quickly cut up some fresh fruit for breakfast and fed Staccato. Amidst her lackadaisical humming and Staccato's purring, Alice gasped in surprise when she felt two arms snake their way around her waist. "Morning," Roy mumbled sleepily, nuzzling into her warm neck. "What are you doing up so early?"

Alice sighed in relief of it not being a rapist hugging her from behind. "I don't know. I just kind of woke up." She shrugged and resumed her cutting of oranges.

Roy gave an exasperated sigh before letting Alice go reluctantly. "Well, I gotta go. Hawkeye will be pissed if I'm late again."

Alice grabbed his wrist before he could leave the room, twirling around. "Oh, no you don't!" She shoved a quarter of an orange into his mouth. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

Roy pulled the orange out of his mouth and threw the peel away. "Do you realize how much you sound like Charlotte right now?" the man chuckled at his girlfriend's horrified expression.

"Do not!"

"Do so!" The girl glared and tried to turn away, only to have Roy catch her wrist. "Oh, no you don't!" He grinned and pulled her towards his lips. "I'll be working a bit later tonight," he said quietly, "but I'll get home as soon as I can."

"Alright; I love you, be careful, Roy." She told him that every day when he went to work. It still made him smile, even after all those months.

"I promise, my Alice. I love you, too." He gave her another peck before picking up Staccato and holding him up into the air, eyeing him. "And you, my feline friend, are in charge. If anything happens to our Alice, it's your tail." The cat meowed once in what Roy took as understanding before the military man walked out the door.

He'd been tense since the moment he walked in the office and accidentally stepped on Fuery's face. To think, it had been such a good night; why did Fuery's face have to be the thing that ruined it? Seeing his face on a daily basis was bad enough, but with his eye all blue and swollen like that-

The good mood he'd had that morning dissipated quickly; between his accidental attack on Kain Fuery, the mound of paperwork on his desk, and hearing that Riza was home sick, it was not looking like it would be a good day.

He was right. Roy Mustang was more right than he'd ever know. Today would be one of the worst days of his life. And Riza wasn't even there to do the paperwork.

Paperwork.

Paperwork.

Honestly, paperwork was the least of his worries.

Alice practically skipped around the house. Life couldn't possibly get any better; the smile on her face was evidence enough to prove that. A right proper housekeeper, she was, taking care of Roy's house as well as giving lessons once again. With everything back to normal, better than normal, Alice's life was fantastic in a way that it never had been before.

She didn't even have a problem with the fact that her boyfriend was the Flame Alchemist, so long as she didn't think about it too hard.

Luckily for Roy, Riza eventually showed up to work. He promptly pushed all the paperwork in her general direction, much to her dismay. He continued to sign things as they were given to him, but most of the day, Roy was daydreaming about his life, his Alice.

The day was a long one, seeing as all reports were due first thing that next morning. Roy left as soon as he could, leaving his subordinates to gather all the papers and organize them into something semi-presentable. Due to the stress of his day, the Flame Alchemist decided to stop at his favorite bar for a quick drink; not enough to get drunk, just enough to settle his nerves a bit before going home.

"Hey, Colonel," the girl behind the bar said casually, throwing a towel over her shoulder, "I haven't seen you around here in awhile. What can I get you?"

"Hey, Mags," he replied, taking a seat. "I'll take a scotch, neat."

As she prepared his glass of alcohol, she struck up conversation, as she did with all her customers. "So, why haven't you been around much, Colonel? Did the almighty Flame Alchemist finally get a steady girlfriend?" She slid the drink to the man and continued drying glasses.

Roy smiled wryly and took a sip. "I finally did; Alice Ackerman. She's great, Mags, really. You've probably seen her friend around here. She's a total airhead named Ivy."

"Ivy? As in the Ivy who drools over every redheaded man who walks in? She's one of my best customers!" Roy smiled and drank some more. "At any rate, congrats, Colonel. I'm glad you finally found a life outside of work and the bar."

The two had known each other for many years; ever since Maggie had started working at the bar and since Roy had become a State Alchemist. They'd become casual friends, but never really knew each other.

The phone rang and Maggie moved to answer it. "Yeah. Yeah, he's here. Colonel Mustang, it's for you; someone named Hawkeye."

Roy took another drink, this one a bit deeper than the last. Riza never called him, unless something was terribly wrong. He cleared his throat and held the phone up to his ear, "Hawkeye?"

After a few moments of quiet, hurried conversation, Roy slammed down the phone, shaking, unwilling to show the emotion he was feeling to Maggie and the rest of those at the bar. His eyes whipped around jerkily, surveying all those present, and suddenly wondering how Riza and the rest of the team was doing, not to mention Alice.

The alchemist sighed, and with that display, the tears nearly threatened to leak from his eyes. He finished the rest of his scotch in one go and threw several bills on the bar. He didn't say anything as he pulled on his coat and made his way out the door. Trying hard to keep his face as stoic as possible as he made his way to his home, to his Alice.

Alice had just shuffled Liz out the door not twenty minutes before she saw the door swing open, and the girl's head turned in unison with it, radiant smile firmly in place, only to flicker and fade at the melancholy Roy had brought home with him. Alice took a light step forward, peering towards him, and stuttering nervously, "R-Roy?"

The dark-haired man didn't respond, the heavy aura surrounding him taking hold in the house and in Alice's heart as well. Two more quick steps forward, more weighted than the first, Alice spoke once again, more firmly. "Roy? Roy, what's wrong?

Again the alchemist didn't speak, having hung up his hat and then proceeding to do the same with his coat. Alice's eyebrows furrowed together, and finally, raising her voice, Alice shouted out, "Roy!"

Roy flinched, but never said a word, moving silently towards the couch, past Alice. "R-Roy?" Alice's voice shrank to a frightened whisper. "Roy, you're scaring me."

His elbows on his knees, Roy pulled his head from his hands and with watery eyes and a quivering monotone, he said, "He's dead, Alice. Maes is dead."

"...w-what?"

"Alice, _Maes is dead._"

Maes Hughes was dead. Images of Elicia floated in and out of the pianist's head, and Alice's lip trembled. "N-no..."

She'd never thought that she would ever see Roy Mustang cry; after everything that the man had been through, Alice didn't think that he had any tears left in him. He was proving that wrong even as she stumbled over herself in disbelief. Feeling her own eyes water, Alice shook her head. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't cry at a time like this, when he needed her to be strong for him, and Alice disappeared into Roy's kitchen, leaving the broken man alone for a brief amount of time.

Alice was terrified, but not nearly as terrified as she was to see Roy break down like that. She did something that she had sworn never to do: Alice Ackerman turned on the stove.

She poured the contents of the can into a pan and let it sit for a whole three minutes, gripping the counter as far away from the open flames as she could get.

"R-Roy, sweetheart," she stumbled over her words as she stood in front of him. He looked up slowly, not even bothering to wipe his eyes. There she stood: his Alice, with an apron around her waist and oven mitts on her hands, carrying a bowl and a mug. She handed them to him cautiously. "I, uh, I used the stove," she said quietly. Under any other circumstances, Alice would have been overjoyed at her bravery; but somehow, her feat paled in comparison to Roy's emotional strength at that very moment.

He unwillingly took the bowl and mug from her hands. He took a slow bite of the lukewarm soup and put it down before picking up the mug of coffee. A sip and it was placed next to the bowl of soup. "I-I'm sorry if it's not very good. I've never made soup or coffee before..." she said quietly as Roy stood slowly.

He stumbled slightly before taking the smaller woman in his arms and held her tight. She could feel her hair dampen with his tears. "Thank you, my Alice. It's a start."

She managed a soft grin, even as he mumbled in her ear, "But, I'm not very hungry tonight..."

"I know, sweetheart. I know," she whispered as the two held each other on the couch, both drowning in their sorrows for one man's best friend, one woman's husband, and one little girl's daddy.


	25. Here Comes the Sun

**So it's been ages, and this has been written for over a year, but here's the epilogue to the fanfic that is Bittersweet. It was lost - and by lost, I mean I (Lex) saved it as lkasjfdjflaksdjg on the laptop and it was sitting there on the hard drive for ages. Here it is; this fanfic hasn't been as popular as we'd hoped, but I hope you all enjoyed it. We certainly did. Thanks for sticking with us all the way, and here's the final installment.**

* * *

Charlotte came out of the house just in time to snatch up her nephew and shower him with compliments and kisses. "You're just too cute!" she cooed. The little boy giggled and kicked his feet, begging his aunt to let him go. "Fine, fine. Go have fun with your cousins."

Charlotte sat down next to her sister and sighed. "You've had some rough times, Alice, but that little boy makes up for everything that happened."

Alice nodded. "He's perfect," she agreed. "He's a bit proud, and rash, but polite and a musician. He's everything I ever dreamed he'd be." The brunette beamed proudly at her little boy.

They watched the children for several moments. "I don't care what you say, Alice. He looks just like Roy," the elder sister said in a slightly quieter voice, as if it were a secret.

Several moments of silence passed. "I know," she said, smiling wanly. "But he's still perfect."

"…and he always said the same about you, you know," Charlotte pressed, and Alice smiled softly, hair falling forward in her face.

"Yes, well. Roy always was a bit rash with his words. Our son is the same."

"You loved him, didn't you?"

"I still love him," Alice snapped, in a tone uncharacteristic of her usually demure demeanor, defensive at the questioning of her sincerity. Charlotte was quick to step back in line.

"I didn't mean anything, Alice. Goodness, you're becoming more and more like me every day…"

Alice laughed sarcastically, "He always said that to me, especially after Selim was born."

Charlotte opened her mouth only to be interrupted by little Selim walking up to Alice and grabbing her hands. "Mama, when is Papa coming home? I drew this for him." He held up a crudely drawn flame transmutation circle, the same one he saw on his father's gloves; the circle he used to trace whenever he couldn't fall asleep. His father would pull him into his lap, hand him his ignition-cloth glove and rock him slowly, whispering stories to him about the times he, too, had to trace transmutation circles.

Alice's eyes started to fill as she started shaking her head. "I don't know, sweetheart."

Charlotte's features softened. "He'll be back before you know it, darling. Don't you worry."

With a grin at his aunt's reassurance, Selim skipped off, going back to playing, even as Alice turned to Charlotte sorrowfully. "Don't fill him with false hope. If Roy doesn't come back, you saying things like that will only break him."

"Alice," Charlotte said seriously, "If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Roy Mustang loved you far too much to go away to war and not come home."

"He didn't love me enough to let me go with him."

"He loved Selim too much to let you leave him, and he loved you too much to let you choose between the two loves of your life. And you know the front line is no place to raise a child, Alice."

She sighed in defeat and looked down at the transmutation oval her son had so carefully drawn in red crayon. Her life…when did it become so ironic? The girl afraid of fire married Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. She then bore the alchemist's child, who not only showed promise on the piano, but also in flame alchemy.

Alice's tears didn't fall, but they grew closer to doing so by the moment, and she managed to mumble, "I miss him, Charlotte. I miss him so much, and I don't ever want to imagine living life without him."

"Living life without who, my Alice?"

Alice couldn't make herself turn around, to begin with, and when she finally did, it was only as she stared into a pair of black-as-night eyes that she finally began to cry.


End file.
